Sociology: work and labour Books

Book SynopsisWork, Family and Childcare studies the joint decisions made by parents regarding the time they allocate to paid employment and childcare. Extensive cross-national data is analysed from three countries that represent the diversity of European households: Belgium, Denmark and Spain. The book compares and contrasts the results and draws out important implications for European social policy.Among Belgian and Danish couples, the author identifies a variety of ways in which the responsibility of childcare is handled. In certain cases both partners will invest considerable time and effort in looking after the child, whereas in other couples one parent will compensate for their partner's lack of time. He also demonstrates that childcare considerations dominate parental decision-making. This is evident not only in a country such as Spain which lacks childcare facilities, but also in Denmark which, relatively speaking, provides an abundance of childcare services. Importantly, the author finds that joint preferences tend to result in either work-centred or care-centred couples, which poses new challenges for policymakers. He argues that future policy initiatives regarding the relationship between 'work and care' should focus on parental diversity and help parents to balance care responsibilities and employment according to their preferencesThis superb new book combines econometric analysis and social policy insights to address an issue of increasing importance to a growing number of people. It will appeal to a broad international audience including economists, sociologists and social policy researchers. It will also be of value to students on a range of courses concerned with family or household economics.Trade Review'What makes this book so special is that the author is well aware of both the policy debates - the economic theory debate on household decision models and the econometric debate on endogeneity and simultaneity in estimations. If only all econometric work could be equally as policy relevant and all policy relevant work could be so well grounded in econometrics. The result is an enlightening, comprehensive and pedagogic account of the link between work, family and childcare, which bridges the gap between the econometric model builders and the policy analysts.' -- Siv Gustafsson, University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands'This book serves up a rich blend of modern family economics, econometrics and knowledge of social institutions to shed light on important social policy issues, including equal opportunity and childcare policies. It demonstrates how careful econometric analysis guided by theory can improve our understanding of how spouses interact in allocating their time to paid employment and to caring for children. The importance of social institutions is demonstrated by undertaking comparable analyses for three European countries - Belgium, Denmark and Spain.' -- John Ermisch, University of Essex, UK'Based on economic theory and empirical evidence of European social reality, Joris Ghysels analyses micro-data using up-to-date econometrics. He thereby produces innovative insights and suggestions for policy change which will be of interest to scientists and policymakers alike.' -- Bea Cantillon, University of Antwerp, BelgiumTable of ContentsContents: Introduction 1. Theoretical Models of Household Decision Making 2. The Recent History of Households, Labour and Demography 3. Econometric Considerations 4. An Application to EU Household Decision Making: Young Couples in Denmark, Belgium and Spain 5. Empirical Results for Belgium 6. Empirical Results for Denmark 7. Empirical Results for Spain 8. Household Decision Making and Time Allocation: A Tale of Conflicts and Complementarity 9. Households, Children and Childcare Facilities 10. Conclusion Bibliography Index

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Book SynopsisWorking Mothers in Europe combines comparative perspectives on social policies with analyses of mothers' practices as evidenced in macro data and as explored in country based case studies. Social policy research has emphasised the impact of particular welfare systems and their policies on women's integration into the labour market and the organisation of care and work. However, the authors argue that policies are not the only factor, and, hitherto, we have very little knowledge of the precise interactions between social policies and social practices of individuals and families. In order to accurately grasp the cross-country variation of mothers' work and care arrangements in Europe, this book assembles a comparative approach towards welfare systems and social policies with an analysis of mothers' social practices in several European countries.Exploring the ways in which working mothers manage to combine care responsibilities and paid work on the basis of diverse public and private resources, this book will be invaluable to academics, researchers and students interested in the social sciences. More generally, the book will greatly appeal to those with an interest in women's employment, gender relations and the needs of children as matters that are tackled in the interaction between social policy and individuals.Trade Review‘Working Mothers in Europe will appeal to readers with an interest in public policy development and mothers' experiences of work-family balance (or imbalance). I envisage that Australian readers will be most interested in the sections exploring how mothers' combine paid employment with child care when state assistance is limited, given that Australia too offers only limited support for employed mothers.' -- Amanda Hosking, Labour & IndustryTable of ContentsContents: 1. Introduction: Social Practices and Social Policies 2. Mothers between Individualisation and Institution: Cultural Images of Welfare Policy 3. Caring for Children: The Logics of Public Action 4. Strategies, Everyday Practices and Social Change 5. Kinship and Informal Support: Care Resources for the First Generation of Working Mothers in Norway, Italy and Spain 6. Care Packages: The Organisation of Work and Care by Working Mothers 7. Women’s Participation in European Labour Markets References Index

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Book SynopsisThis Research Companion examines the effects of work hours on individual and family well-being and questions why people work hard and whether some can work too hard. It integrates contributions from two areas of research - work hours and work addiction - that have historically been pursued separately. Ronald Burke argues that while work hours have decreased for blue-collar workers, they have increased for professionals and managers, particularly in developed countries. He reveals that some employees need to work long hours while others do so willingly: people work long hours to meet individual needs and due to societal incentives such as materialism and consumerism. The book concludes that working long hours is only part of the story; why one works long hours and how one works these long hours emerge as powerful factors in determining the link between hours worked and well-being. The volume also includes recommendations for addressing a long hours culture at individual, family, organizational, community and societal levels.Academics, students, researchers and policymakers with an interest in human resource management, work hours and work addiction and their effects will find this highly original Companion to be a fascinating reaTrade Review'Ronald Burke has put together a collection of state-of-the-art research and writing about work hours and work addiction from around the world. This book is essential reading for academics, managers, human resource professionals and anyone else interested in identifying types of work addiction, learning about antecedents and consequences of workaholism, as well as how to help people achieve work-life balance. The contributions from top notch researchers and academics in the field provide a rounded view of how the interplay between career aspirations, work motivation and working conditions contribute to health outcomes and effectiveness at work.' -- Astrid M. Richardsen, Norwegian School of Management, Norway'The Research Companion to Working Time and Work Addiction captures the essence and intricacies of an important and fascinating topic. It explores the body of writing on work-hours that until this book existed quite separately from literature on work addiction. As can be expected from the breadth of his knowledge and the consistent quality of his work, Ronald J. Burke has done a terrific job of editing a book that presents work addiction and working time in a way that is both scientifically sound and engaging. The twenty four contributors have done an excellent job of extending and refining our understanding of work addiction and working time in this collection of excellent conceptual and empirical chapters. This book is a must for all scholars and practitioners who are interested in this fascinating aspect of work life.' -- Ayala Malach-Pines, Ben-Gurion University, Israel'This is an excellent and unique book which not only addresses the detrimental effects of long working hours and work addiction, but also investigates the causes and treatment of workaholism. An outstanding volume which includes both conceptual and empirical chapters from distinguished academics and practitioners from several countries. This is essential reading for all those interested in health and well-being in the workplace and the establishment of satisfactory home and work-life balances. The editor should be congratulated for this groundbreaking book.' -- Marilyn J. Davidson, University of Manchester, UK'This book is overdue. Someone, somewhere, a long time ago, should have put this book together, because its value is incalculable. The pace of change in the workplace has vastly increased, and workers see their jobs as more complex and fragmented. What is the prognosis? Where is it all going? What can be done about it? If anything? This book is more a "handbook" than a research companion, on all those aspects of the workplace that touch on or represent change, pace, workload, work addiction, work-life balance, job satisfaction, job involvement, stress, conflict, values, Type A behaviour and other personality disorders. What's more, it delves into some of the more unknown elements of these aspects of work, in different countries. Read it. You'll not be disappointed.' -- Janice Langan-Fox, Swinburne University of Technology, Melbourne, AustraliaTable of ContentsContents: Preface PART I: INTRODUCTION 1. Work Hours and Work Addiction Ronald J. Burke 2. How Long? The Historical, Economic and Cultural Factors Behind Working Hours and Overwork Lonnie Golden PART II: DEFINITION AND CONSEQUENCES OF WORKAHOLISM 3. The Workaholic Breakdown Syndrome Barbara Killinger 4. Exploring New Frontiers to Generate an Integrated Definition of Workaholism Lynley H.W. McMillan and Michael P. O’Driscoll 5. Understanding Workaholism: The Case for Behavioral Tendencies Peter E. Mudrack PART III: ANTECEDENTS AND TYPES OF WORKAHOLICS 6. Making Sense of Temporal Organizational Boundary Control Graeme MacDermid 7. Economic and Employment Conditions, Karoshi (Work to Death) and the Trend of Studies on Workaholism in Japan Atsuko Kanai 8. Workaholic Types: It’s Not How Hard You Work but Why and How You Work Hard Ronald J. Burke 9. Dr Jekyll or Mr Hyde? On the Differences between Work Engagement and Workaholism Wilmar B. Schaufeli, Toon W. Taris and Arnold B. Bakker PART IV: ADDRESSING WORK HOURS AND WORKAHOLISM 10. ‘Decent Working Time’: Balancing the Needs of Workers and Employers Jon C. Messenger 11. The Unlikely Referral of Workaholics to an Employee Assistance Program Gayle Porter and Robert A. Herring III 12. Career Success and Personal Failure: A Developing Need to Find Balance Ronald J. Burke and Teal McAteer-Early 13. Exploring Career and Personal Outcomes and the Meaning of Career Success Among Part-time Professionals in Organizations Mary Dean Lee, Pamela Lirio, Fahri Karakas, Shelley M. MacDermid, Michelle L. Buck and Ellen Ernst Kossek 14. Improving Work–Life Balance: REBT for Workaholic Treatment Charles P. Chen 15. Spiritual Leadership Theory as a Source for Future Theory, Research, and Recovery for Workaholism Louis W. Fry, Laura L. Matherly and Steve Vitucci Index

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Book SynopsisThis provocative book considers the changing status of older workers, the evolution of public policy on age and work and the behaviour of employers. It attempts to answer the critical question: in an ageing society, can older workers look forward to the prospect of longer working lives with choice and security and make successful transitions to retirement? Ageing Labour Forces challenges the current stance of many governments and observers concerning policies to extend working lives. It utilises perspectives and case studies from public policy, employment policy and the attitudes and behaviour of older people. Philip Taylor argues that older workers have been at the forefront of industrialized society's efforts to respond to the crisis facing social welfare systems and the economic threats associated with population ageing. Their involvement has forced the restructuring of economies, adjustments to social welfare systems as well as redefinitions to the actual concept of old age. Containing contributions from leading researchers in a number of countries, this work will appeal to academics and researchers interested in work, ageing and public policy as well as labour economics.Trade Review'Philip Taylor has produced an important and excellent edited collection on a topic of immediate and ongoing relevance. . . The case studies presented in this collection are highly accessible and rich in detail, and provide comprehensive and interesting analyses of ageing labour forces. The book challenges myths and oft-accepted statements made by policy-makers and other commentators about population ageing, older workers' position in the labour market and in workplaces, and social supports for this segment of the labour force. In addition, the volume demonstrates the strength of the case study methodology in helping us to better understand social structures and relations. Of particular value is that the contributions are from researchers from varied disciplines across advanced industrialized countries. . . this collection is highly valuable for policy-makers, employers, unionists, and academics, and should not be ignored.' -- Vivian Shalla, Labour/LeTravail'This book makes an important contribution to the policy debate about age and the workforce, and will be valuable both to academic researchers interested in the labour market and ageing policy, and to policymakers who wish to understand the diversity of national approaches to a shared agenda. . . This book sheds new light on the differences between countries' approaches to the common policy issues, and highlights some of the issues which policy needs to address. Taylor's overarching argument that we should be cautious about making over-positive assumptions about the benefits of extending working life is timely.' -- Stephen McNair, Ageing and Society'The book is extremely valuable for policy makers, labour market and welfare (pensions) experts and the social partners, because it contains a comprehensive analysis of the legal, institutional, welfare and employment policy developments over the past few decades in the eight countries. It offers policy guidance and examples of good practices for dealing with an ageing workforce, but also showing the adverse effects of well-intentioned policies and legislation.' -- Hedva Sarfati, Relations Industrielles/Industrial Relations'Ageing Labour Forces is a provocative work, which will appeal to academics and researches interested in work, ageing and public policy, as well as labour economics.' -- SirReadaLot.orgTable of ContentsContents: Introduction: The Promise of Ageing Labour Forces Philip Taylor 1. Looking Forward to Working Longer in Australia Sol Encel 2. Japan: Towards Employment Extension for Older Workers Masato Oka 3. Work and Retirement in Canada: Policies and Prospects Julie McMullin, Martin Cooke and Terri Tomchick 4. Sing if you’re Glad to be Grey. Working Towards a Happier Older Age in the United Kingdom Philip Taylor 5. Age and Work in the United States of America Sara Rix 6. Labour Market Policies Regarding Older Workers in the Netherlands Kène Henkens and Joop Schippers 7. Pulling up the Early Retirement Anchor in France Anne-Marie Guillemard and Annie Jolivet 8. Active Ageing in Employment – Prospects and Policy Approaches in Germany Frerich Frerichs and Gerhard Naegele 9. Conclusions: The Propsects for Ageing Labour Forces Philip Taylor Index

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Book SynopsisThis book is a comparative study of family change, parental employment and social policy in the five Nordic countries, the Netherlands, Germany and the United Kingdom. In all these countries family forms have been profoundly affected by lower fertility rates, lower marriage rates, increased cohabitation, higher risks of relationship breakdown and episodes of lone parenthood. These changes have also been linked to an increase in the proportion of mothers participating in the labour market. The contributors to this book trace these social trends over the last twenty years and analyse how social policy has developed and evolved in response. They argue that while the Nordic countries pioneered efforts to recognise new family forms and reconcile work and family life, there is still considerable variation between them as well as some evidence that the non-Nordic countries are catching up.Social Policy, Employment and Family Change in Comparative Perspective will strongly appeal to academics and researchers of social policy as well as policy makers looking to learn from the experiences of these countries.Table of ContentsContents: Foreword 1. Introduction Jonathan Bradshaw and Aksel Hatland 2. Family Change Naomi Finch 3. The Parental Employment Context Emese Mayhew 4. State Recognition of New Family Forms? Cecilie Wehner and Peter Abrahamson 5. Parental Rights and Obligations Aksel Hatland and Emese Mayhew 6. Family Benefit Packages Jonathan Bradshaw and Emese Mayhew 7. Childcare and Parental Leave Naomi Finch 8. Fertility Rates in Europe: The Influence of Policy, Economy and Culture Arieke Rijken 9. First Births: A Comparative Study of the Patterns of Transition to Parenthood in Europe Katja Forssén and Veli-Matti Ritakallio 10. Men and (Their) Families: Comparative Perspectives on Men’s Roles and Attitudes Towards Family Formation Trudie Knijn, Ilona Ostner and Christoph Schmitt 11. Education, Employment and Family Formation: Differing Patterns Ulla Björnberg, Stefán Ólafsson and Guony Björk Eydal 12. Working Their Way Out of Poverty? Lone Mothers in Policies and Labour Markets Anne Skevik 13. Family Poverty in the European Union Veli-Matti Ritakallio and Jonathan Bradshaw 14. Gender Equity and Time Use: How Do Mothers and Fathers Spend Their Time? Naomi Finch 15. Conclusions Ulla Bjornberg and Jonathan Bradshaw Index

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Book SynopsisCompeting claims on time in work and family life have become inherent, unavoidable features of the Western world. As households increasingly juggle competing responsibilities, and as job expectations and parenting standards intensify, many people feel torn between work and family. This book aims to deepen our understanding of a variety of conditions that influence the successes and difficulties experienced in attempting to equally accommodate both work and private lives. The contributors argue that conditions which create competing claims on time can originate from the organization, from the household, or from both; a multi-level and multi-actor approach is thus applied to the problem. Paying detailed attention to time use and time pressures, the contributors focus not only on the causes of disturbed balances between work and care, but also on solutions to these competing claims. The conclusions reached provide policymakers and implementers with evidence that certain elements of the organization and the household can be seen as parameters that are susceptible to directed policy-based intervention. This comprehensive, multinational and multi-disciplinary study encompasses sociology, economics, geography and urban science perspectives from across Europe, US, and Australia. It will prove essential reading for students of social scientific disciplines, including family and organizational sociology and economics, and for policymakers and researchers focusing on work-family issues.Trade Review'. . . this book is an interesting contribution to the theory and practice of a major concern for a more balanced working life and a less stress-related health problems, particularly in the context of a shrinking labour force in the coming decades and population ageing. It will be valuable to policy makers, employers, human resources managers, trade unions and labour market specialists.' -- Hedva Sarfati, Industrial Relations'. . . this book presents a valuable contribution to existing literature. The fact that the different contributions are rather short has the advantage of making the reading process highly enjoyable.' -- Sile O'Dorchai, Transfer'. . . this book, well-structured and written by highly-qualified contributors, is a valuable contribution to the better understanding of the variables which impact on the interplay between work and private life and successfully provides a medium through which students in sociology and human resource management will be able to chart the shifting boundaries of their respective disciplines.' -- Jeanne Fagnani, British Journal of Industrial RelationsTable of ContentsContents: Preface 1. Finding Time Tanja van der Lippe and Pascale Peters PART I: TRENDS IN TIME USE AND TIME PRESSURE 2. Time Pressure and Quality of Life Manfred Garhammer 3. More Work for Mothers? Trends and Gender Differences in Multitasking Liana C. Sayer 4. Odd Working Hours and Time Pressure Koen Breedveld 5. Under Pressure: Time and Time Pressure in Flanders Maarten Moens PART II: WORKPLACE AND HOUSEHOLD RELATED CAUSES 6. Trading off or Having it all? Workers’ Preferences for Work and Family Time Judith Treas and Christin Hilgeman 7. Employees’ Preferences for Longer or Shorter Working Hours Kea G. Tijdens 8. The Puzzle of Unpaid Overtime: Can the Time Greediness of Post-Fordist Work be Explained? Patricia van Echtelt, Arie C. Glebbeek, Rudi Wielers and Siegwart Lindenberg 9. Working Time, Client Time and Family Time: Accounting for Time in the Accountancy Profession Suzan Lewis 10. Labour Supply: The Effects of Employer Demands and Household Governance Philip Wotschack, Jacques Siegers, Babette Pouwels and Rafael Wittek PART III: ORGANIZATIONAL AND HOUSEHOLD SOLUTIONS TO TIME PRESSURE 11. Trading Time and Money: Explaining Employee Participation and Leave Choices in a Flexible Benefit Plan Carlien Hillebrink, Joop Schippers, Pascale Peters and Anneke van Doorne-Huiskes 12. Household Outsourcing: A Transaction Cost Approach Esther de Ruijter and Tanja van der Lippe 13. Time Competition in Home-Based Telework: A Theoretical Framework Peter Standen 14. Access to Home-Based Telework: A Multi-Level and Multi-Actor Perspective Pascale Peters and Tanja van der Lippe 15. Does Telecommuting Really Save Commute Time? Time, Distance, and Speed Evidence from State of California Workers David T. Ory and Patricia L. Mokhtarian Index

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Book SynopsisThis significant book explains how work-life balance is being destroyed because individuals fail to link their work effort with its adverse environmental effects and the personal costs they impose.The burgeoning literature dealing with work-life balance suggests that the developed world is more interested in this issue today than at any other time in the recent past. Provocative and insightful, Work, Leisure and the Environment presents a rigorous explanation based on economic theory as to why contemporary societies suffer from over-work and work-life imbalance, asserting that they are both the cause and effect of environmental degradation. The author focuses upon a fundamental flaw in contemporary market economies that causes individuals to unknowingly reduce their well-being by working and consuming excessively, while enjoying inadequate leisure time. It is argued that this inability to correctly assess the benefits derived from their work effort causes individuals to place unreasonable and unsustainable demands on the environment. By ignoring the environmental destruction that accompanies work effort, its benefits are overestimated and, as a consequence, individuals voluntarily choose to work longer hours than they should. This engaging volume will have widespread appeal amongst researchers and policymakers interested in the environment, consumerism and labour markets and will also be an invaluable reference tool for studies into leisure and work-life balance.Trade Review'. . . a wonderfully accessible and persuasive contribution to an increasingly urgent and broad literature focusing on overwork, consumerism, environmental disamenity and the work-life balance. . . an excellent scholarly piece of work, drawing on a wide range of literature, and written in a very engaging and inclusive style. It will appeal to - and deserves to be read by - as wide an audience as possible.' -- Richard J. White, Leisure StudiesTable of ContentsContents: Preface 1. Economic Approaches to the Environment 2. The Fundamental Flaw 3. How Workers are Short-Changed by Externalities 4. Critiques of Consumerism and the Consumption Treadmill 5. Measuring the Cost of the Fundamental Flaw 6. The Cumulative Effect and International Differences 7. Policies to Tackle the Fundamental Flaw 8. Intuitive Reasoning versus Deliberative Thought References Index

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Book SynopsisEmployees, organizations and society alike should grow the virtual workplace, as the multiple, tangible benefits of telework for each of these three stakeholders largely outweigh the costs. To help stakeholders benefit from the virtual workplace, the authors analyze four key issues: telework adoption, implementation, tracking and impacts. They develop the comprehensive EOS framework to examine both the interaction among employees, organizations and society, and the linkages among telework impacts, tracking, implementation and adoption.Unique features of the book include an integrative framework for increasing telework adoption; practical tips - specific to each stakeholder - on how best to implement and measure telework; and an analysis of original survey data exploring the virtual workplace adoption decision.Readership for this book includes academic experts on telecommuting, policymakers involved in transportation, human resource or environmental policies, and managers and employees considering telework.Trade Review'The authors have produced an extraordinarily useful book on the numerous facets of the complex teleworking phenomenon. Although their pro-telework position is clear (and persuasively justified), their discussion of each element is thoughtful, balanced, and carefully referenced. Their conceptual paradigm offers a very helpful way to organize and synthesize the vast and growing literature on teleworking, and they have employed it to masterful effect. They have succeeded in producing a work that is equally valuable and relevant to organizations, individual employees, public planners, and academic scholars - no small feat.' -- Patricia L. Mokhtarian, University of California, Davis, US'At TELUS, teleworking has become an important part of our operating framework. Thousands of our team members telework on a part-time basis and hundreds of our team members telework on a full-time basis. The individual, environmental, social and financial benefits achieved through telework are compelling and real. This book by the Haskayne School of Business offers comprehensive insights that will help TELUS and hopefully many other enterprises to fully realize the great benefits of telework.' -- Josh Blair, TELUS, Canada'The first integrative analysis of the virtual workplace's many contributions to sustainable development: a must read for strategists in firms and governments.' -- Ans Kolk, University of Amsterdam Business School, The Netherlands'This book is a great reference for senior executives looking to implement telework to enhance their business. As the leading provider of managed IP communications services in North America, MegaPath supports the telework programs of hundreds of companies with IT remote access VPN services. This book addresses the many challenges these companies have faced and the benefits they have derived from telework programs.' -- Greg Davis, MegaPath, USTable of ContentsContents: Foreword by Scott McNealy 1. Introduction Part I: Telework Impacts 2. Telework Impacts: The Employee Perspective 3. Telework Impacts: The Organizational Perspective 4. Telework Impacts: The Societal Perspective Part II: Telework Tracking 5. Telework Tracking: The Employee Perspective 6. Telework Tracking: The Organizational Perspective 7. Telework Tracking: The Societal Perspective Part III: Telework Implementation 8. Telework Implementation: The Employee Perspective 9. Telework Implementation: The Organizational Perspective 10. Telework Implementation: The Societal Perspective Part IV: Telework Adoption 11. Telework Adoption: An Employee Perspective 12. Telework Adoption: An Organizational Perspective 13. Telework Adoption: A Societal Perspective References Index

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Book SynopsisFeaturing new findings and fresh insights from an international roster of labor economists, including such eminent authors as Morley Gunderson, Harry Holzer, and Paul Ryan, this book delves into a uniquely wide range of high-profile labor issues affecting youth in the US, Canada, Europe, and Japan - from declining job, wage, and training prospects to workplace health hazards, immigration, union activism, and new policy strategies. This widely accessible introduction to the latest research in the area presents original empirical economic studies in an engaging style.All may find something of interest in the host of controversial topics of lively public debate that are covered, including: youth unemployment, earnings mobility, racial/ethnic and gender inequalities, training quality and access, job hazards, health insurance coverage, immigration, minimum wage laws, union organizing, and global economic competition.Young Workers in the Global Economy is written in a clear and accessible style for a broad readership ranging from scholars and college students to employers, unions, career counselors, human resource professionals, vocational trainers, policy analysts, government officials, immigration and health care activists, as well as to the wider public concerned about the future of youth career prospects.Trade Review'This timely collection offers an analysis of youth employment in a global perspective. It examines five subject areas, ranging from current trends in labor markets through education levels of job seekers, workplace safety, immigration and strategic initiatives to deal with declining levels of employment. . . . it sets forth clear prescriptions for public policy. Recommended.' -- R.L. Hogler, Choice'. . . the volume is successful in reaching an always difficult equilibrium between scientific soundness, on the one hand, and fluency, on the other hand. . . the book is a highly enjoyable and engaging read also for a general audience interested in understanding the new dimensions of what has become a persistent affliction of many households in advanced economies.' -- Education Economics'This excellent collection addresses an important issue: Why young people in so many countries experience more unemployment and precariousness than previous generations, and what we can do about it.' -- Michael Reich, University of California, Berkeley, USTable of ContentsContents: Preface 1. Youth Employment: Crisis or Course Change? An Introduction Gregory DeFreitas PART I: CURRENT JOB TRENDS AND CHALLENGES 2. The Youth Labor Market Problem in Cross-Country Perspective Rebekka Christopoulou 3. Out of School, Out of Work, Out of Luck? Black Male Youth Joblessness in New York City Mark Levitan 4. Still With Us After All of These Years: Youth Labor Market Entry, Home-Leaving and Human Capital Accumulation in Italy, 1993–2003 Niall O’Higgins 5. Youth Employment in Japan after the 1990s Bubble Burst Naoki Mitani PART II: SCHOOL-TO-WORK TRANSITIONS 6. Youth Employment Problems and School-to-Work Institutions in Advance Economies Paul Ryan 7. Work and Non-Work Time Use of US College Students Lonnie M. Golden PART III: DYING FOR A JOB 8. Occupational Fatalities Among Young Workers Janice Windau 9. Falling Private Health Insurance Coverage Among Young Workers in the United States Niev J. Duffy PART IV: HOW DOES IMMIGRATION AFFECT AMERICAN YOUTH? 10. Immigration and Youth Employment: Recent Debates and Research Findings Gregory DeFreitas 11. Unauthorized Mexican Immigration and Youth Labor Market Outcomes in California in the 1990s Enrico A. Marcelli PART V: STRATEGIES FOR IMPROVING FUTURE JOB PROSPECTS 12. How Can We Improve Employment Outcomes for Young Black Men? Harry J. Holzer 13. Does Job Corps Training Boost the Labor Market Outcomes of Young Latinos? Alfonso Flores-Lagunes, Arturo Gonzalez and Todd Neumann 14. Have Young Workers Lost Their (Collective) Voice? Youth–Adult Preferences for Workplace Voice in Canada Michele Campolieti, Rafael Gomez and Morley Gunderson References Index

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Book SynopsisAcross Europe the importance of reconciling paid work and family life is increasingly recognised by a range of diverse government regulations and organisational initiatives. At the same time, employing organisations and the nature of work are undergoing massive and rapid changes, in the context of global competition, efficiency drives, as well as social and economic transformations in emerging economies. "Work, families and organisations in transition" illustrates how workplace practices and policies impact on employees' experiences of "work-life balance" in contemporary shifting contexts. Based upon cross-national case studies of public and private sector workplaces carried out in Bulgaria, Norway, Portugal, Slovenia, Sweden, the Netherlands and the UK, this innovative book demonstrates the challenges that parents face as they seek to negotiate work and family boundaries. The case studies demonstrate that employed parents' needs and experiences depend on many layers of context - global, European, national, workplace and family. This book will be of interest to undergraduate and postgraduate students of organisational psychology, sociology, management and business studies, human resource management, social policy, as well as employers, managers, trade unions and policy makers.Trade Review'The book tackles important contemporary themes, and by placing the issues faced by working parents in the wider context of organisational change and national policy frameworks, it allows for the findings to be interpreted in a more holistic sense.' Clare Kelliher, Cranfield School of Management, Cranfield University"This thought provoking book raises compelling questions about how contemporary ways of working can become compatible with socially sustainable workplaces, families and communities." Rhona Rapoport, Former Director of the Institute of Family and Environmental ResearchTable of ContentsContents: Work, family and organisations in transition: setting the context ~ Suzan Lewis, Julia Brannen and Ann Nilsen; Research design and methods: Doing comparative cross-national research ~ Julia Brannen, Ann Nilsen and Suzan Lewis; PART ONE: PUBLIC SECTOR ORGANISATIONS: Working parenthood in a social services context: A UK case ~ Julia Brannen; Social service as human service: between loyalties; a Swedish case ~ Lars Plantin and Margareta Bäck-Wiklund; Organisational social capital and its role in the support of working parents: the case of a public social assistance agency in Bulgaria ~ Siyka Kovacheva; PART TWO: PRIVATE SECTOR ORGANISATIONS: Old rights in new times: the experiences of parents in a Slovenian organisation ~ Nevenka Cernigoj Sadar; Work-life initiatives and organisational change in a UK private sector company: a transformational approach? ~ Suzan Lewis and Janet Smithson; Work-family policies in a contradictory culture: A Dutch financial sector corporation ~ Bram Peper, Laura den Dulk and Anneke van Doorne-Huiskes; PART THREE: COMPARISONS: Parents and organisational change: a cross-sector comparison of two Norwegian organisations ~ Ann Nilsen, Sevil Sümer and Lise Granlund; Changing contexts, enduring roles? Working parents in Portuguese public and private sector organisations ~ Maria das Dores Guerreiro, Pedro Abrantes and Inês Pereira; Comparing flexible working arrangements across organisational contexts ~ Ann Nilsen, Suzan Lewis and Julia Brannen; In conclusion ~ Julia Brannen, Suzan Lewis and Ann Nilsen

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Book SynopsisIn past decades, most democratic European countries sought to achieve a more equal division of labour between men and women, both within families and organisations. At the same time, they wanted to offer individuals and families sufficient freedom to determine their own roles. But how far can the basic values of 'equality' and 'freedom' be realised in the daily division of labour in a complex modern society? How can they be linked with other principles, such as 'solidarity' and 'efficiency'? "Towards a democratic division of labour?" starts from the challenge of balancing these values in all sections of modern society, introducing the Combination Model as a scientific tool for studying the division of professional and family work. Following an integrated conceptual approach, the book explains the historical evolution of the division of labour in modern welfare states. Three policy models are developed to illustrate how a democratic division of labour can be conceived in the long-term and the Complete Combination Model is presented as the most suitable for the development of an integrated policy programme. "Towards a democratic division of labour?" offers inspiration to all scientists, policy makers, representatives of societal organisations and managers who are searching for new theoretical, empirical and policy perspectives.Trade Review"This book is timely. ...the combination of voluminous survey evidence and theoretical perspectives makes this an important study in an important field." Citizen's Income Newsletter, Issue 3, 2009Table of ContentsContents: Challenges with respect to the daily division of professional and family labour; Integrated conceptual approach to the daily life; Normative approach of the Combination Model; Actual evolution of the division of professional and family labour; The complete combination model as the basis for an integrated policy in a strong democracy; Policy perspectives for the realization of the Complete Combination Model; Major results;

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Book SynopsisIn past decades, most democratic European countries sought to achieve a more equal division of labour between men and women, both within families and organisations. At the same time, they wanted to offer individuals and families sufficient freedom to determine their own roles. But how far can the basic values of 'equality' and 'freedom' be realised in the daily division of labour in a complex modern society? How can they be linked with other principles, such as 'solidarity' and 'efficiency'? "Towards a democratic division of labour?" starts from the challenge of balancing these values in all sections of modern society, introducing the Combination Model as a scientific tool for studying the division of professional and family work. Following an integrated conceptual approach, the book explains the historical evolution of the division of labour in modern welfare states. Three policy models are developed to illustrate how a democratic division of labour can be conceived in the long-term and the Complete Combination Model is presented as the most suitable for the development of an integrated policy programme. "Towards a democratic division of labour?" offers inspiration to all scientists, policy makers, representatives of societal organisations and managers who are searching for new theoretical, empirical and policy perspectives.Trade Review"This book is timely. ...the combination of voluminous survey evidence and theoretical perspectives makes this an important study in an important field." Citizen's Income Newsletter, Issue 3, 2009Table of ContentsContents: Challenges with respect to the daily division of professional and family labour; Integrated conceptual approach to the daily life; Normative approach of the Combination Model; Actual evolution of the division of professional and family labour; The complete combination model as the basis for an integrated policy in a strong democracy; Policy perspectives for the realization of the Complete Combination Model; Major results;

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Book SynopsisThe economic crisis has revealed the dark side of deregulation in the labour market: rising unemployment, limited access to social security and, due to low wages, no savings to count upon in bad times. This book casts light on the empirical relationship between labour market deregulation through non-standard contracts and the three main dimensions of worker security: employment, income and social security. Focusing on individual work histories, it looks at how labour market dynamics interact with the social protection system in bringing about inequality and insecurity. In this context Italy is put forward as the epitome of flexibility through non-standard work and compared with three similar countries: Germany, Spain and Japan. Results show that when flexibility is carried out as a mere cost-reduction device and social security only relies on insurance principles, deregulation leads to insecurity. 'The political economy of work security and flexibility' is essential reading for academics, students, practitioners and policy makers interested in the outcomes of labour market developments in advanced economies over the past twenty years.Trade Review"By using clear language and structure and by offering an excellent overview of the flexicurity debate with solid empirical evidence on workers' (in)security along multiple dimensions, this book is of indubitable value for academics, students and policy makers." Work, employment and society"...this book is a milestone: a conceptually clear, empirically-grounded contribution that advances our understanding of the complex links between flexibility and security." British Journal of Industrial Relations"Using unique Italian work history data, the book offers a compelling analysis of the impact of nonstandard work on worker well-being in Italy and gives valuable comparisons to Germany, Japan and Spain." Richard B. Freeman, Professor of Economics, Harvard University"The aim of labor market deregulation is not just more hiring but an improvement in overall living standards. Via a detailed exploration of the Italian case, this fine book documents the importance of effective social protections to achievement of that goal." Lane Kenworthy, Professor of Sociology and Political Science, University of Arizona"This book is distinctive for its careful comparative investigation and measurement of the multiple dimensions of worker insecurity. An impressive study which is a must-read for scholars and policy makers alike." Martin Rhodes, Professor of Comparative Political Economy, University of DenverTable of ContentsWorker security and the spread of non-standard work; Flexibility and security in contemporary labour markets; Labour policy developments in Italy in comparative perspective; Flexibility and employment security: an analysis of work careers; Flexibility and wage dynamics; Flexibility and social security; A monetary measure of worker (in)security; Conclusions.

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Book SynopsisCombining paid work with caring for children has become more difficult for families as women's working hours have increased. Over the past decade the issue of work-family balance has reached a more prominent place on the policy agenda of many Western European countries. However the preoccupations of governments have been largely instrumental, focusing particularly on the goal of increasing female employment rates in order to achieve greater competitiveness and economic growth, and also in many countries on raising fertility rates and promoting children's early learning. This important book looks at the three main components of work-family policy packages - childcare services, flexible working patterns and entitlements to leave from work in order to care - across EU15 Member States, with comparative reference to the US. It also provides an in-depth examination of developments in the UK. Variations in national priorities, policy instruments, established policy orientations and the context for policy making in terms of employment patterns, fertility behaviour and attitudes towards work and care are highlighted. Gender inequalities in the division of paid and unpaid work underpin the whole issue of work-family balance. But what constitutes gender equality in this crucial policy field? Jane Lewis argues that in spite of growing political emphasis on the importance of 'choice', a 'real' choice to engage in either or both the socially necessary activities of paid and unpaid work has remained elusive. Work-Family Balance, Gender and Policy is essential reading for students and scholars who wish to understand the complex challenges facing families and family policy and the opportunities for the future.Trade Review'In this authoritative and beautifully written book, Jane Lewis addresses the vexed question of how societies can ensure that individuals and families are able to both support themselves and to care for their dependants without material disadvantage. . . Lewis combines theoretical and conceptual sophistication with fine-grained empirical description and analysis to compare work and family policies, the way they have evolved and their underlying logic, in the European Union (EU) and the USA. . . This is a nuanced, compassionate and absorbing book. . . It is a unique synthesis of the literature and presents a compelling argument in a new way. It is theoretically sophisticated and full of detailed empirical analysis, yet is highly readable, clear and accessible. It would be very useful in teaching courses on women's studies, public policy and sociology of the family. It would have broad appeal to anyone concerned with work and family issues, and should be essential reading to those with an academic interest in welfare state analysis, social policy and gender.' -- Lyn Craig, Sex Roles'Based on multiple comparative as well as UK sources, this new book by one of the most well-known European social scientists unravels the multiple dimensions and relationships involved in balancing family and paid work demands. Jane Lewis documents persisting, and even increasing cross-country differences. Notwithstanding these, work-family reconciliation policies are more concerned with allowing women to combine paid work and family care than with redistributing care between men and women. This important book should be required reading for everyone interested in social policy and welfare state analysis.' -- Chiara Saraceno, Social Science Research Centre Berlin (WZB), Germany and University of Turin, Italy'This book provides a brilliant synthesis of comparative research on work-family policies with particular relevance to the emerging policy agenda in the UK. Jane Lewis is a profound thinker and graceful writer who leavens her theoretical sophistication with comprehensive attention to practical details.' -- Nancy Folbre, University of Massachusetts Amherst, US'Jane Lewis is a brilliant conceptual innovator and gifted empirical analyst in the field of social policy. This book expertly illuminates the dramatically changing terrain of social policy with reference to employment, family and gender relations.' -- Ann Orloff, Northwestern University, USTable of ContentsContents: 1. Introduction Part I 2. The Policymaking Context: Behaviour and Attitudes with Mary Campbell 3. Work–Family Balance Policies: Comparisons and Issues 4. Patterns of Development in Work–Family Balance Policies for Parents in France, Germany, the Netherlands and the UK During the 2000s with Trudie Knijn, Claude Martin and Ilona Ostner Part II 5. Policy Development in the UK, 1997–2007 6. Concluding Reflections on Gender Equality and Work–Family Balance Policies Bibliography Index

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Book SynopsisThis book is a comparative study of family change, parental employment and social policy in the five Nordic countries, the Netherlands, Germany and the United Kingdom. In all these countries family forms have been profoundly affected by lower fertility rates, lower marriage rates, increased cohabitation, higher risks of relationship breakdown and episodes of lone parenthood. These changes have also been linked to an increase in the proportion of mothers participating in the labour market. The contributors to this book trace these social trends over the last twenty years and analyse how social policy has developed and evolved in response. They argue that while the Nordic countries pioneered efforts to recognise new family forms and reconcile work and family life, there is still considerable variation between them as well as some evidence that the non-Nordic countries are catching up.Social Policy, Employment and Family Change in Comparative Perspective will strongly appeal to academics and researchers of social policy as well as policy makers looking to learn from the experiences of these countries.Table of ContentsContents: Foreword 1. Introduction Jonathan Bradshaw and Aksel Hatland 2. Family Change Naomi Finch 3. The Parental Employment Context Emese Mayhew 4. State Recognition of New Family Forms? Cecilie Wehner and Peter Abrahamson 5. Parental Rights and Obligations Aksel Hatland and Emese Mayhew 6. Family Benefit Packages Jonathan Bradshaw and Emese Mayhew 7. Childcare and Parental Leave Naomi Finch 8. Fertility Rates in Europe: The Influence of Policy, Economy and Culture Arieke Rijken 9. First Births: A Comparative Study of the Patterns of Transition to Parenthood in Europe Katja Forssén and Veli-Matti Ritakallio 10. Men and (Their) Families: Comparative Perspectives on Men’s Roles and Attitudes Towards Family Formation Trudie Knijn, Ilona Ostner and Christoph Schmitt 11. Education, Employment and Family Formation: Differing Patterns Ulla Björnberg, Stefán Ólafsson and Guony Björk Eydal 12. Working Their Way Out of Poverty? Lone Mothers in Policies and Labour Markets Anne Skevik 13. Family Poverty in the European Union Veli-Matti Ritakallio and Jonathan Bradshaw 14. Gender Equity and Time Use: How Do Mothers and Fathers Spend Their Time? Naomi Finch 15. Conclusions Ulla Bjornberg and Jonathan Bradshaw Index

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Book SynopsisFeaturing new findings and fresh insights from an international roster of labor economists, including such eminent authors as Morley Gunderson, Harry Holzer, and Paul Ryan, this book delves into a uniquely wide range of high-profile labor issues affecting youth in the US, Canada, Europe, and Japan - from declining job, wage, and training prospects to workplace health hazards, immigration, union activism, and new policy strategies. This widely accessible introduction to the latest research in the area presents original empirical economic studies in an engaging style.All may find something of interest in the host of controversial topics of lively public debate that are covered, including: youth unemployment, earnings mobility, racial/ethnic and gender inequalities, training quality and access, job hazards, health insurance coverage, immigration, minimum wage laws, union organizing, and global economic competition.Young Workers in the Global Economy is written in a clear and accessible style for a broad readership ranging from scholars and college students to employers, unions, career counselors, human resource professionals, vocational trainers, policy analysts, government officials, immigration and health care activists, as well as to the wider public concerned about the future of youth career prospects.Trade Review'This timely collection offers an analysis of youth employment in a global perspective. It examines five subject areas, ranging from current trends in labor markets through education levels of job seekers, workplace safety, immigration and strategic initiatives to deal with declining levels of employment. . . . it sets forth clear prescriptions for public policy. Recommended.' -- R.L. Hogler, Choice'. . . the volume is successful in reaching an always difficult equilibrium between scientific soundness, on the one hand, and fluency, on the other hand. . . the book is a highly enjoyable and engaging read also for a general audience interested in understanding the new dimensions of what has become a persistent affliction of many households in advanced economies.' -- Education Economics'This excellent collection addresses an important issue: Why young people in so many countries experience more unemployment and precariousness than previous generations, and what we can do about it.' -- Michael Reich, University of California, Berkeley, USTable of ContentsContents: Preface 1. Youth Employment: Crisis or Course Change? An Introduction Gregory DeFreitas PART I: CURRENT JOB TRENDS AND CHALLENGES 2. The Youth Labor Market Problem in Cross-Country Perspective Rebekka Christopoulou 3. Out of School, Out of Work, Out of Luck? Black Male Youth Joblessness in New York City Mark Levitan 4. Still With Us After All of These Years: Youth Labor Market Entry, Home-Leaving and Human Capital Accumulation in Italy, 1993–2003 Niall O’Higgins 5. Youth Employment in Japan after the 1990s Bubble Burst Naoki Mitani PART II: SCHOOL-TO-WORK TRANSITIONS 6. Youth Employment Problems and School-to-Work Institutions in Advance Economies Paul Ryan 7. Work and Non-Work Time Use of US College Students Lonnie M. Golden PART III: DYING FOR A JOB 8. Occupational Fatalities Among Young Workers Janice Windau 9. Falling Private Health Insurance Coverage Among Young Workers in the United States Niev J. Duffy PART IV: HOW DOES IMMIGRATION AFFECT AMERICAN YOUTH? 10. Immigration and Youth Employment: Recent Debates and Research Findings Gregory DeFreitas 11. Unauthorized Mexican Immigration and Youth Labor Market Outcomes in California in the 1990s Enrico A. Marcelli PART V: STRATEGIES FOR IMPROVING FUTURE JOB PROSPECTS 12. How Can We Improve Employment Outcomes for Young Black Men? Harry J. Holzer 13. Does Job Corps Training Boost the Labor Market Outcomes of Young Latinos? Alfonso Flores-Lagunes, Arturo Gonzalez and Todd Neumann 14. Have Young Workers Lost Their (Collective) Voice? Youth–Adult Preferences for Workplace Voice in Canada Michele Campolieti, Rafael Gomez and Morley Gunderson References Index

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Book SynopsisThe objective of this volume is to apply the economic sociology perspective to issues of work broadly defined. Economic sociology is a vibrant area of research investigating how social structures, power allocations and cultural understandings shape the production, consumption, distribution and exchange of goods and services. The volume consists of three parts. Contributors of this title include prominent senior scholars and promising junior researchers from some of the most eminent academic institutions like Princeton University, Duke University, Brown University, the University of California-Berkeley, and Ecole Normale Superieur, Paris, France.Table of ContentsList of Contributors. Acknowledgments. Toward an economic sociology of work. Intimacy in economic organizations. Economic inequality among entrepreneurs. Routine inefficiency: operational satisficing and real-world markets. Good times, bad times: the effects of organizational dynamics on the careers of male and female managers. Economic globalization and increasing earnings inequality in affluent democracies. Hostess work: negotiating the morals of money and sex. Yard games: the social, symbolic, and economic logic of exchange in a scrap metal yard in Chicago. “The money is just immaterial”: relationality on the retail shop floor. The “independent” investigator: how academic scientists construct their professional identity in university–industry agricultural biotechnology research collaborations. Culture at work in post-Soviet Russia. An economic sociology of informal work: the case of India. How to make care work visible? The case of dependence policies in France. Prison labor and the paradox of paid nonmarket work. About the Authors. Index. Research in the sociology of work. Economic sociology of work. Copyright page.

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Book SynopsisThis first of two companion volumes places the labor markets, workplaces, jobs and workers of Europe in comparative perspective. It focuses on the politics, economics, sociology, and history of work and workers in Europe. Authors contribute a variety of methodological and theoretical perspectives, with papers that push the boundaries of evidence and argument. In order to place European workers in comparative perspectives, the volume features articles that analyze specific European countries, industries and firms, analyze Europe as one of a few cases, and analyze many European countries within a cross-national sample. Specific topics in 'Comparing European Workers Volume 1: Experiences and Inequalities' include: a multilevel study of perceived job insecurity in 27 European countries; work values and job rewards among European workers; explaining cross-national variation in wage inequality; managerial intensity and earnings inequality in affluent democracies; cross-national patterns in individual and household employment and work hours by gender and parenthood; and domestic and international causes of the rise of pay inequality in OECD nations.Table of ContentsList of Contributors. Introduction. Reexamining the Relationship Between Flexibility and Insecurity. Work Values and Job Rewards Among European Workers. The Islamic Making of a Capitalist Habitus. Explaining Cross-National Variation in Wage Inequality. Testing the Fat and Mean Thesis. Cross-National Patterns in Individual and Household Employment and Work Hours by Gender and Parenthood. Domestic and International Causes for the Rise of Pay Inequality in OECD Nations Between 1980 and 2000. Comparing European Workers Part A: Experiences and Inequalities. Research in the sociology of work. Research in the sociology of work. Copyright page.

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Book SynopsisCombining paid work with caring for children has become more difficult for families as women's working hours have increased. Over the past decade the issue of work-family balance has reached a more prominent place on the policy agenda of many Western European countries. However the preoccupations of governments have been largely instrumental, focusing particularly on the goal of increasing female employment rates in order to achieve greater competitiveness and economic growth, and also in many countries on raising fertility rates and promoting children's early learning. This important book looks at the three main components of work-family policy packages - childcare services, flexible working patterns and entitlements to leave from work in order to care - across EU15 Member States, with comparative reference to the US. It also provides an in-depth examination of developments in the UK. Variations in national priorities, policy instruments, established policy orientations and the context for policy making in terms of employment patterns, fertility behaviour and attitudes towards work and care are highlighted. Gender inequalities in the division of paid and unpaid work underpin the whole issue of work-family balance. But what constitutes gender equality in this crucial policy field? Jane Lewis argues that in spite of growing political emphasis on the importance of 'choice', a 'real' choice to engage in either or both the socially necessary activities of paid and unpaid work has remained elusive. Work-Family Balance, Gender and Policy is essential reading for students and scholars who wish to understand the complex challenges facing families and family policy and the opportunities for the future.Trade Review'In this authoritative and beautifully written book, Jane Lewis addresses the vexed question of how societies can ensure that individuals and families are able to both support themselves and to care for their dependants without material disadvantage. . . Lewis combines theoretical and conceptual sophistication with fine-grained empirical description and analysis to compare work and family policies, the way they have evolved and their underlying logic, in the European Union (EU) and the USA. . . This is a nuanced, compassionate and absorbing book. . . It is a unique synthesis of the literature and presents a compelling argument in a new way. It is theoretically sophisticated and full of detailed empirical analysis, yet is highly readable, clear and accessible. It would be very useful in teaching courses on women's studies, public policy and sociology of the family. It would have broad appeal to anyone concerned with work and family issues, and should be essential reading to those with an academic interest in welfare state analysis, social policy and gender.' -- Lyn Craig, Sex Roles'Based on multiple comparative as well as UK sources, this new book by one of the most well-known European social scientists unravels the multiple dimensions and relationships involved in balancing family and paid work demands. Jane Lewis documents persisting, and even increasing cross-country differences. Notwithstanding these, work-family reconciliation policies are more concerned with allowing women to combine paid work and family care than with redistributing care between men and women. This important book should be required reading for everyone interested in social policy and welfare state analysis.' -- Chiara Saraceno, Social Science Research Centre Berlin (WZB), Germany and University of Turin, Italy'This book provides a brilliant synthesis of comparative research on work-family policies with particular relevance to the emerging policy agenda in the UK. Jane Lewis is a profound thinker and graceful writer who leavens her theoretical sophistication with comprehensive attention to practical details.' -- Nancy Folbre, University of Massachusetts Amherst, US'Jane Lewis is a brilliant conceptual innovator and gifted empirical analyst in the field of social policy. This book expertly illuminates the dramatically changing terrain of social policy with reference to employment, family and gender relations.' -- Ann Orloff, Northwestern University, USTable of ContentsContents: 1. Introduction Part I 2. The Policymaking Context: Behaviour and Attitudes with Mary Campbell 3. Work–Family Balance Policies: Comparisons and Issues 4. Patterns of Development in Work–Family Balance Policies for Parents in France, Germany, the Netherlands and the UK During the 2000s with Trudie Knijn, Claude Martin and Ilona Ostner Part II 5. Policy Development in the UK, 1997–2007 6. Concluding Reflections on Gender Equality and Work–Family Balance Policies Bibliography Index

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Book SynopsisMainstream economics traditionally restricts the analysis of the labor market to purely monetary factors, such as earnings, leaving aside many other characteristics which might affect the desirability of certain jobs. By contrast, this original book aims to explore the alternatives and problems faced by researchers in quantifying and measuring a broader notion of job quality. The main objective is to analyze the different approaches to measurement and to analyze both the advantages and disadvantages of the various methods within a European context. Specifically, the book presents a unique new index of job quality and applies it to the EU Member States. The index proves particularly useful to measure the differences in job quality by country, occupation, gender and age. Based on solid theory and data, this book will prove essential for postgraduate students, researchers and academics of labor economics, sociology, industrial relations, and European studies as it presents a coherent discussion of the concept and components of job quality, and of the difficulties of measuring it. The book also proposes a new aggregate index of job quality that can contribute to the evaluation of European employment policies and performance that will appeal to European policy circles.Trade Review'This highly readable and authoritative book on the social economics of job quality comes at a critical time as policy-makers, employers and unions seek to rebuild jobs after the economic crisis. The team of authors are leading experts on European employment trends and policy and have produced an excellent study that proposes a new index of job quality for Europe. Given its depth and breadth of coverage of theory and already existing indicators, the book is likely to be a landmark study. Readers will enjoy the engaging review of past and present works of classical political economy and behavioural economics and will benefit from the expert critical appraisal of more than 20 existing proposals for job quality indices. Most importantly, the authors design and test a new European Job Quality Index that provides a reliable and coherent measure of five critical dimensions of the character of contemporary jobs. Measuring More than Money is a much-needed analysis that will interest both specialists and anyone concerned about job quality. The proposed indicator deserves to be adopted and will enable policy-makers to make good their commitment to sustainability and equality across Europe by monitoring and responding to a good job quality measure.' - Damian Grimshaw, University of Manchester, UK 'Is a job a job? If you looked at unemployment data, you would think so. But economists since Adam Smith know that jobs differ in quality: difficulty or pleasure of doing it. Thus they tend to assume that market would equalize wage per unit of difficulty of a job, and that they do not need to worry about intrinsic job quality. Rafael de Bustillo shows that this wrong and that in an era of plenty for many (although not for all), the challenge is to create high-quality jobs and to find ways of comparing them in terms of fulfillment afforded to workers. The book thus addresses a new and growing field of study: for it certainly matters if we are happy or unhappy in an activity that takes almost one-third of our lives and often defines who we are.' - Branko Milanovic, World Bank and University of Maryland, US 'This is a book every labour economist or sociologist interested in job quality should read. It provides a well written overview of the depth and breadth of this field, presenting a systematic review of this complex multidimensional concept and discussing more than twenty of the indicators currently in use. The volume goes beyond the current literature by developing a sound, empirically tested Job Quality Index for the European Union. It was definitely a pleasure reading this volume.' -- Kea Tijdens, University of Amsterdam, The NetherlandsTable of ContentsContents: 1. Introduction 2. What is a Good Job? Accounting for the Different Dimensions Shaping Job Quality 3. Measurement Problems and Data Sources 4. Mapping the Terrain: Review of Existent Indicators of Job Quality 5. The Construction of a European Job Quality Index 6. Making Concepts Work: Job Quality in Europe 7. Conclusions References Index

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Book SynopsisPrivatization and Economic Efficiency assesses the economic content of many of the beliefs surrounding privatization. It develops a new and novel inter-disciplinary approach linking economic and organizational dimensions.A series of case studies examines the theory, evidence and policy experience of privatization in developed and developing nations. These studies focus on the UK, US, Egypt and Jamaica. The book concludes that privatization is an appealingly simple phrase concealing many difficulties and problems for analysts, researchers and policymakers.Trade Review'. . . overall the volume is interesting, readable, and well produced. . .' -- Stephen Trotter, The Economic Journal

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Book SynopsisThis thoroughly documented book provides an overview of social policies affecting women in Germany, Italy, Denmark, Britain, Ireland, Norway, France and Sweden. The central theme is the relationship between paid and unpaid work, something very few European governments have been prepared explicitly to address as a social issue and which has yet to enter the European Commission's agenda.Contributors discuss the literature on women and welfare in their particular country concerned and outline the developments in social policies relating to women and the position of women in regard to reproductive and labour market behaviour in the post-War period. The essays analyse the assumptions behind policies affecting women's family and work lives and discuss specific legislative approaches to securing 'equality'. A concluding chapter discusses the European Community's contribution to the goal of equal opportunities for both men and women.The main aim of the book is to provide students with a source of easily accessible information about a major issue in social policy: the relationship between women, the family and employment.Trade Review'Women and Social Policies in Europe is a timely and informative book that provides a wealth of material on women's experiences and welfare rights within Europe.'Table of ContentsContents: 1. Introduction: Women, Work, Family and Social Policies in Europe (Jane Lewis) 2. The Gendered Scandinavian Welfare States: The Interplay between Women's Roles as Mothers, Workers and Citizens in Denmark (Birte Siim) 3. The ‘Woman-Friendly’ Welfare State?: The Case of Norway and Sweden (Arnlaug Leira) 4. Managing the Mothers: The Case of Ireland (Pauline Conroy Jackson) 5. Slow Motion: Women, Work and the Family in Germany (Ilona Ostner) 6. Women, Work and Welfare in France (Linda Hantrais) 7. Gender,‘ Gift Relationship’ and Welfare State Cultures in Italy (Franca Bimbi) 8. Women and the State: Changes in Roles and Rights in France, West Germany, Italy and Britain, 1970–1990 (Prue Chamberlayne) 9. Women’s Rights in the European Community (Elizabeth Meehan)

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Book SynopsisIn Institutions, Inflation and Unemployment, Edward J. Amadeo investigates the relationship between inflation and distributive conflict among social groups in an environment of pervasive uncertainty. Professor Amadeo considers theoretical, institutional and empirical aspects of a problem, chronic and very high inflation, which has been at the heart of the economic crisis in Brazil during the last 15 years. After analysing economic models of wage and price determination in regimes of high inflation, the author examines institutional approaches to the organization of unions and the structure of wage bargains - with emphasis on the centralization of bargains - and concludes with a discussion and empirical assessment of the relation between wage bargaining and inflation in Brazil.Combining a sophisticated theoretical analysis with a rigorous study of Brazil’s recent period of rampant inflation, Professor Amadeo offers both theoretical and applied economists a series of informed and significant insights into the phenomenon of inflation.Table of ContentsContents: 1. Introduction 2. Inflation and Real Wages 3. Wage Determination in Economics with High Inflation 4. A Macroeconomic Analysis of Inflation and Stabilization 5. Union Attitudes, Social Structures and Wage Restrain 6. The Institutional Basis of Wage Bargaining in Brazil 7. Macroeconomic Crisis, the Labour Market and Distribution in Brazil

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Book SynopsisWhat will citizenship mean to the peoples of a new, wider Europe? Welfare state retrenchment and technological change in the work place are undermining social citizenship rights and provoking a critical assessment of the West European concept itself. In the light of these changes, what models can the democratic, industrialized states of the West offer the transitional economies of the East?This innovative book presents new work by an international group of leading social scientists offers historical analysis and empirical description, as well as theoretical and political assessments, of work and citizenship in Europe. It examines the erosion of the welfare state, the emergence of poverty and the underclass, and the rights and duties connected with social citizenship. After a review of labour rights and obligations in the former socialist countries, it also assesses the state of industrial citizenship. It asks why the technological transformation of work tends to create segmentation and exclusion and argues for a debate about economic citizenship rights.Work and Citizenship in the New Europe concludes with theoretical and political arguments in favour of specific social policies on work and citizenship, examining such issues as labour participation, basic income guarantees and durable economic growth.Table of ContentsPart 1 Work and citizenship in central and eastern Europe: citizenship and the right to work in Bulgaria, Dimitrina Dimitrova and Stefan Dimitrov; citizenship and the organization of work under "perestroika", Gregory Andrusz; unification, solidarity and equality - dilemmas of trade union strategies in Germany, Jens Bastian. Part 2 The erosion of the welfare state and social citizenship rights: modern poverty and second-class citizenship, Godfried Engbersen; citizenship and the underclass, Robert Moore; welfare, work and training for the unemployed in Britain - a historical review, John Jacobs; citizenship and the modern welfare state - social integration, competence and the reciprocity of rights and duties in social policy, Romke van der Veen. Part 3 The transformation of work and industrial citizenship: with every pair of hands you get a free brain, Stephen Heycock; participation and autonomy at work - a segmented privilege, Peter Leisink and Leni Beukema. Part 4 Work, rights and obligations: labour force participation, citizenship and a sustainable welfare state in the Netherlands, Hans Adriaansens and Willem Dercksen; a non-productivist design for social policies, Claus Offe; between obligation and right - the concept of work in the trade unions, Harry Coenen; basic income, citizenship and solidarity - towards a dynamic for social renewal, Jacques Vilrokx.

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Book SynopsisThis thoroughly documented book provides an overview of social policies affecting women in Germany, Italy, Denmark, Britain, Ireland, Norway, France and Sweden. The central theme is the relationship between paid and unpaid work, something very few European governments have been prepared explicitly to address as a social issue and which has yet to enter the European Commission's agenda.Contributors discuss the literature on women and welfare in their particular country concerned and outline the developments in social policies relating to women and the position of women in regard to reproductive and labour market behaviour in the post-War period. The essays analyse the assumptions behind policies affecting women's family and work lives and discuss specific legislative approaches to securing 'equality'. A concluding chapter discusses the European Community's contribution to the goal of equal opportunities for both men and women.The main aim of the book is to provide students with a source of easily accessible information about a major issue in social policy: the relationship between women, the family and employment.Trade Review'Women and Social Policies in Europe is a timely and informative book that provides a wealth of material on women's experiences and welfare rights within Europe.'Table of ContentsContents: 1. Introduction: Women, Work, Family and Social Policies in Europe (Jane Lewis) 2. The Gendered Scandinavian Welfare States: The Interplay between Women's Roles as Mothers, Workers and Citizens in Denmark (Birte Siim) 3. The ‘Woman-Friendly’ Welfare State?: The Case of Norway and Sweden (Arnlaug Leira) 4. Managing the Mothers: The Case of Ireland (Pauline Conroy Jackson) 5. Slow Motion: Women, Work and the Family in Germany (Ilona Ostner) 6. Women, Work and Welfare in France (Linda Hantrais) 7. Gender,‘ Gift Relationship’ and Welfare State Cultures in Italy (Franca Bimbi) 8. Women and the State: Changes in Roles and Rights in France, West Germany, Italy and Britain, 1970–1990 (Prue Chamberlayne) 9. Women’s Rights in the European Community (Elizabeth Meehan)

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Book SynopsisThis book provides a complete guide to managing time from identifying current use of time to planning workloads and time saving hints and tips.Trade Review'Managing Time is a useful little book for managers and trainers who require a general introduction to the subject. It covers ground covered in most books on time management, but does so in a reader-friendly manner with a number of useful checklists and exercises for the reader to try out.' Training Officer Table of Contents1. Time as a finite capital - valuing time. 2. Developing the right attitude of mind - the qualities of a good time-manager. 3. Identifying your current use of time. 4. You and your tasks - planning your workload. 5. You and yourself - what are your objectives?. 6. You and others - delegating and how to say 'no'.

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Book SynopsisManagement and Industry in Russia is a major examination of production relations in Russian industry during the transition process. Using a series of authoritative and thorough case studies, the authors focus on the gap between formal and informal relations in the work place, a key feature of traditional Soviet industrial production.Focusing on four contrasting regions in Russia - Moscow, Samara, Kuzbass and the Komi Republic - an experienced group of researchers has used a wide range of qualitative and ethnographical research methods to explore production relations in the Soviet enterprise. The research is based on a series of longitudinal case studies of between two and four enterprises in each region. The economic, social and political developments in each region have also been monitored. Each of the papers in this collection focuses on one aspect of life in a post-Soviet enterprise which it places in the context of the interaction of formal and informal relations in production. The areas discussed include the Soviet system of production, attitudes to work, the specificity of Soviet production, paternalism in state management, the role of women, the role of middle management and the continuing importance of the plan and pay systems.Trade Review’. . . a sociological study concerning connections between formal and informal activity, effectively pries open the black boxes, shedding much-welcome light on the monitored enterprises. All in all, Management and Industry in Russia is a stimulating volume that suggests new hypotheses about the nature of Russian transition, while serving as useful reminder that it is often those factors that are absent from official statistics that are decisive for reform.’Table of ContentsFormal and informal relations in Soviet industrial production; informal relations in the Soviet system of production; on a particular kind of love and the specificity of Soviet production; the mechanism of paternalistic management of the enterprise - the limits of paternalism; paternalism in Russian enterprises - our understanding; the position of women in production; middle management in industrial production in the transition to the market; we didn't make the plan; payment systems and the restructuring of production relations in Russia.

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Book SynopsisThis major new three volume reference collection includes both classic and contemporary papers and covers the main issues of stratification -- status, class, occupation, gender, race and ethnicity. Each article represents a distinctive theoretical contribution which sets research agendas in its area. Together, the volumes offer a comprehensive treatment of issues which lie at the heart of social stratification and the modern discipline of sociology.John Holmwood’s selection includes papers covering over 150 years of research which address the changing character of modern society as well as the relationships between issues of employment, welfare, household and the state.Table of ContentsContents: Volume I: Acknowledgements Introduction Part I: Solidarity and Division: Attempts at Foundation Part II: Solidarity and Division: Formulating Principles of Stratification Part III: Elites and Power Part IV: Professions Index • Volume II: Acknowledgement Part I: The Development of Civil Society: Industrialism and Post-Industrialism Part II: Welfare and Social Stratification Part III: Occupations and Social Stratification Index • Volume III: Acknowledgements Part I: Race and Ethnicity Part II: Gender and Stratification Part III: Fragmentation, Division and Beyond Name Index

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Book SynopsisThe Lectures to Women given by Alfred Marshall at Cambridge in 1873, which focus on the effects of working conditions on man's character and prospects, are unique in their content and purpose. They offer insight into a radical period in Marshall's life of which relatively little is known.This new critical edition makes the Lectures, which have sometimes been referred to by Marshallian scholars, available to a wider body of historians of economic thought. Based on Mary Paley Marshall's original notes, corrected by Marshall himself, the Lectures are supplemented by Marshall's lecture outlines. Some contemporary and related texts are also published here including a paper on the future of the working classes from the same year and Marshall's exchange of articles with the trade unionist John Holmes in 1874 known as the Bee-Hive debate. A contextualised commentary on the lectures is provided by Rita McWilliams Tullberg, Ernesto Biagini and Tiziano Raffaelli who adopt three lines of enquiry respectively: the lectures as part of the movement for higher education for women in the Victorian era, the lectures as indicative of Marshall's stand vis-a-vis the political-ideological framework of the time and the lectures as an indicator of Marshall's methodological tendencies concerning the study of social phenomena.Trade Review'The book should [therefore] be in every good university library and on the book shelf of all devoted Marshall scholars.' -- Peter Groenewegen, History of Economics Review'All the chapters are well argued by experts in the field, and the book is a valuable addition to the Marshallian literature.'– J.M. Alec Gee, Journal of the History of Economic ThoughtTable of ContentsContents: Foreword (G. Becattini) 1. The Anglican Ethic and the Spirit of Citizenhsip: The Political and Social Context (E. Biagini) 2. Of Mircoscopes and Telescopes (T. Raffaelli) 3. The Women’s Education Movement at Cambridge (R. McWilliams Tullberg) 4. Lectures to Women 5. Lecture Outlines 6. The Future of the Working Classes 7. The Bee-Hive Debate Index

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Book SynopsisConflict and Change in the Russian Industrial Enterprise focuses on the new kinds of conflict that arise in the transition to a market economy. Following an editorial introduction, two chapters develop theories from new empirical research into patterns of conflict and forms of trade unionism in Russian enterprises in the transition period. These are followed by a detailed case study of the development of an independent trade union in one large industrial enterprise, and a chapter which explores changes in the status hierarchy of the industrial enterprise. Two chapters then address the much-neglected issue of gender differentiation in the work place and both chapters question the supposed passivity of Russian women workers. The two final chapters address the issue of conflict and change in the external relations of enterprises through case studies of the process of bankruptcy and of conflict between insiders and outsiders.Table of ContentsConflict and change in the Russian industrial enterprise (Simon Clarke); social contradictions and conflicts in state enterprises in the transition period (Vladimir Ilyin); Russian trade unions and the management apparatus in the transition period (Vladimir Ilyin); the trade union "solidarity" - a case study (Irina Tartakovkskaya); the changing status of workers in the enterprise (Irina Kozina and Vadim Borisov); gender differation and industrial relations (Galina Monousova); gender stereotyping and the gender division of labour in Russia (Elain Bowers); the regional elite in the epoch of bankruptcy (Pavel Romanov); privatization and restructuring of enterprises: under "insider" or "outsider control"? (Veronika Kabalina)

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Book SynopsisThe Social Challenge of Job Creation brings together a distinguished group of economists and sociologists to provide a broad, accessible and multidisciplinary assessment of job creation in Europe. This major volume discusses the role of labour market institutions and the nature of their interaction with other economic and social regulations. The European case is discussed in depth with a focus on issues such as the extent to which US labour market institutions can be adapted to European societies, and the problem of the long-term unemployed. Two chapters are explicitly devoted to Spain which constitutes a paramount example of the job creation failure in Europe. An introductory chapter summarizes the main conclusions of the book. Among other results, the authors highlight the importance of systemic and carefully balanced labour market reforms.The Social Challenge of Job Creation provides a rigorous yet accessible broad assessment of the policy alternatives which could lead to increased job creation in the European economy.Table of ContentsContents: Prologue (C. Cavallé) 1. Introduction: Four myths about employment (J. Gual) Part I: Policies and Institutions for Job Creation 2. Employment in Europe (J.H. Drèze) 3. Preventing Long-Term Unemployment: An Economic Analysis (R. Layard) 4. Does it Fit? Drawing Lessons From Differing Labour Practices (R.B. Freeman) Part II: Spain: Lessons from a Failure in Job Creation 5. Job Creation in Spain: A Macroeconomic View (J. Viñals) 6. Creating Employment in Spain: Labour Market Imperfections (C. Sebastián) Part III: Cultural Values and Labour Market Institutions 7. The Institutional Structuring of Firms’ Strategies and Employment Practices in Market Economies (R. Whitley) 8. Knowledge and Ideas for Job Creation: the case of Entrepreneurship in the 1980s (J.L. Alvarez) Index

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Book SynopsisThe rapid influx of women into the labour market has come to be recognised as one of the most important economic and social developments of the latter half of the 20th century. Women in the Labor Market is an authoritative collection of those papers which have made the greatest contribution to our understanding of this development and its causes. The emphasis is on empirical work which has served either to support or undermine the theoretical foundations of this field, but also included are papers by sociologists who provide insights on economic issues not found in the work of economists.The opening section explores the causes of women's participation in the labour market. The following section investigates the nature of the work in which women are involved and the explanations for this occupational distribution. The question of earnings differentials between male and female occupations and the trends and explanations for this gender wage gap are addressed in the third section, while the penultimate section offers an exploration of the policies which have been proposed in order to improve the status of women in the labour market. In conclusion, the impact of women's work on their lives and families is evaluated.Trade Review'The articles reproduced here are among those that made the most significant contributions to knowledge of women's role in the labour market, and of how policies influence the outcome. . . . It would be difficult to exaggerate the value of these volumes, bringing together as they do such a wide range of empirical research on some of the most important issues in social policy at the end of the twentieth century.'Table of ContentsContents: Introduction Part I: Explaining Women’s Labor Force Participation Part II: Occupational Distribution Part III: The Male/Female Earnings Ratio Part IV: Policies to Improve Women’s Status in the Labor Market Part V: Impact of Women’s Labor Force Participation on the Family Name Index

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Book SynopsisIn Not Just for the Money Professor Frey challenges traditional economic theory and argues that people do not act in expectation of monetary gain alone, nor do they work solely because they are paid. Furthermore, the author claims that higher monetary compensation as well as regulations crowd-out motivation in important circumstances. Offering higher pay may make people less committed to their work and may reduce their performance. They thus behave in exactly the opposite way the fundamental price-effect of economics predicts.The first part of the book considers the Crowding-Out Effect and the Motivational Spill-Over Effect. The second part explores a large number of applications to constitutional questions, various policy issues and the organization of firms. The final part discusses the substantial consequences for policy making and economic theory.This path breaking book is bound to create controversy and debate. It will appeal not only to economists but to a wide range of social scientists who want to go beyond the traditional assumption of economic man.Trade Review'What he [Bruno Frey] offers is both challenging and pervasive in its relevance. He is ambitious enough to aspire to make economics less presumptive and less general, but - as he himself observes - earlier efforts to integrate psychology into economics have been noted while precious little effect on economics as a whole. His book is provocative and interesting and likely to yield some further empirical efforts to measure putative crowding-out effects, but scepticism and inertia are likely to be difficult barriers to overcome.'Table of ContentsContents: 1. Introduction Part I: The Crowding-Out Effect 2. Everyday Experiences 3. The Psychological Background 4. Integration into Economics 5. Motivational Spill-Over Effect Part II: Applications 6. A Strict or Lenient Constitution? 7. Environmental Policy 8. Siting Policy, or: the NIMBY-problem (with Felix Oberholzer-Gee) 9. Social and Organizational Policy 10. Work Motivation and Compensation Policy Part III Conclusions 11. Consequences for Economic Policy 12. Consequences for Economic Theory References Index

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Book SynopsisChanging labour markets, welfare policies and citizenship readdresses the question of how full citizenship may be preserved and developed in the face of enduring labour market pressures. It: clarifies the relationship between changing labour markets, welfare policies and citizenship; discusses possible ways in which the spill-over effect from labour market marginality to loss of citizenship can be prevented; specifies this problem in relation to the young, older people, men and women and immigrants; offers theoretical and conceptual definitions of citizenship as a new, alternative approach to empirical analyses of labour market marginalisation and its consequences; highlights the lessons to be learned from differing approaches in European countries.Trade Review"... a useful and informative book, which addresses some of the key social policy issues of the day." Work, Employment and Society"... students of comparative European social policy will find this a useful source book." Journal of Social Policy"A state-of-the-art account of the most pressing social policy issue in European countries: employment and unemployment. Views of experts from British, Scandinavian and Continental welfare state traditions add up to a truly European perspective." Lutz Leisering, Faculty of Sociology, University of Bielefeld, GermanyTable of ContentsIntroduction: Citizenship, changing labour markets and welfare policies: an introduction Jørgen Goul Andersen and Per H. Jensen; Internationalisation and the labour market of the European Union Peter Plougmann; Changing interactions between policies and citizenship: Citizenship and changing welfare states Ruth Lister; Work and citizenship: unemployment and unemployment policies in Denmark, 1980-2000 Jørgen Goul Andersen; New institutional forms of welfare production: some implications for citizenship Willem Trommel and Bert de Vroom; The cause and effect of welfare policies on citizenship: Unemployment, welfare policies and citizenship: different paths in Western Europe Jørgen Goul Andersen and Knut Halvorsen; Youth unemployment, welfare and political participation: a comparative study of six countries Torild Hammer; Ethnicity, racism and the labour market: a European perspective Gary Craig; From externalisation to integration of older workers: institutional changes at the end of the worklife Bert de Vroom and Anne Marie Guillemard; Movements by the unemployed in France and social protection: the Fonds d'urgence sociale experience Denis Bouget; Changing welfare states and labour markets in the context of European gender arrangements Birgit Pfau-Effinger; Conclusions: A second order reflection on the concepts of inclusion and exclusion Asmund Born and Per H. Jensen; Concluding remarks Jørgen Goul Andersen and Per H. Jensen.

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Book SynopsisPolicy makers across the world are confronting issues relating to lone parents and employment, with many governments seeking to increase the participation of lone parents in the labour market. This book is based on an up-to-date analysis of provisions within particular countries, examining whether and how policies support and encourage employment, and drawing out policy lessons. The countries examined are the UK, USA, Australia, France, the Netherlands and Norway. Unlike other studies which have considered this issue, this book includes both country-specific chapters and makes thematic comparisons across countries. Chapters are written by leading experts on lone parenthood in each country. Lone parents, employment and social policy is essential reading for students in social policy, sociology, human geography, gender and women's studies, as well as policy makers and practitioners in the field of lone parents and employment. It will be of interest to those who want to know more about these policy developments but also to those interested in broader issues about gender and welfare states.Trade Review"... contains a wealth of information as well as interesting insights." Journal of Social Policy"This book offers valuable analyses and broader issues of policy changes that have recently taken place in the studied countries." International Journal of Social Welfare"This book stands as a model not only for the substantive analysis of policies that affect lone parents, but as an example of the way in which the best international social policy research should be conducted." Nick Manning, School of Sociology and Social Policy, University of Nottingham"Lone parents, employment and social policy will make a significant contribution to this area of policy, as well as to the field of comparative social policy." Sue Morris, School of Public Administration and Law, Robert Gordon University, ScotlandTable of ContentsContents: Foreword: Lone parents: the UK policy context Ruth Lister; Comparing employment policies for lone parents cross-nationally: an introduction Jane Millar and Karen Rowlingson; Part One: Policies within specific countries: Helping British lone parents get and keep paid work Alan Marsh; Welfare reform and lone mothers' employment in the US Jane Waldfogel, Sandra K. Danziger, Sheldon Danziger and Kristin S. Seefeldt; Lone parents and employment in Australia Peter Whiteford; Lone parents and employment in Norway Anne Skevik; Does it work? Employment policies for lone parents in the Netherlands Trudie Knijn and Frits van Wel; Lone parents, employment and social policy in France: lessons from a family friendly policy Christine Chambaz and Claude Martin; Part Two: Cross-cutting themes: Orientations to work and the issue of care Jane Lewis; The social, economic and demographic profile of lone parents Karen Rowlingson; Work-related activity requirements and labour market programmes for lone parents Jane Millar; Making work pay policies for lone parents Majella Kilkey and Jonathan Bradshaw; Lone mothers, employment and childcare Hilary Land; Conclusions: Supporting employment: emerging policy and practice Karen Rowlingson and Jane Millar.

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Book SynopsisThis important new book presents the findings of the first comparative study of unemployed youth in Europe using a large and original data set. It addresses some of the key questions around the issue including: How do young people cope with unemployment? Does unemployment lead to social exclusion of young people, implying a withdrawal from society, financial deprivation and social isolation? Drawing on a research sample of over 17000 young unemployed people in ten European countries, the book examines how different welfare strategies and labour market policies in different countries influence the risk of social exclusion among unemployed youth.Trade Review"... important and timely." Youth & Policy"This book, by a team of Europe's leading youth researchers, is a must for anyone with an interest in youth policy. It goes beyond comparing unemployment rates by examining differences in benefit eligibility and levels and the social profiles of the young unemployed. It also identifies the conditions under which youth unemployment is most and least likely to lead to long-term social exclusion." Ken Roberts, Department of Sociology, Social Policy and Social Work Studies, University of Liverpool, UKTable of ContentsContents: Introduction Torild Hammer; Method and research design Jan Carle and Torild Hammer; Unemployment, integration and marginalisation: a comparative perspective on 18-to 24-year-olds in Finland, Sweden, Scotland and Spain Andy Furlong and Fred Cartmel; Processes of marginalisation at work - integration of young people in the labour market through temporary employment Ivan Harsløf; Recurrence of youth unemployment: a longitudinal comparative approach Isabelle Recotillet and Patrick Werquin; Scheme participation and employment outcome of young unemployed people - empirical findings from nine European countries Hans Dietrich; Youth participation in the labour market in Germany, Spain and Sweden Floro Ernesto Caroleo and Francesco Pastore; Surviving unemployment - a question of money or families? Torild Hammer and Ilse Julkunen; Buffers and predictors of mental health problems among unemployed young women in countries with different breadwinner models Ilse Julkunen and Ira Malmberg-Heimonen; Economic hardship, employment status and psychological wellbeing of young people in Europe José Luis Álvaro and Alicia Garrido; Welfare regimes and political activity among unemployed young people Jan Carle; Concluding remarks Torild Hammer.

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Book SynopsisIt is often argued that European welfare states, with regulated labour markets, relatively generous social protection and relatively high wage equality, have become counter-productive in a globalised and knowledge-intensive economy. Using in-depth, comparative and interdisciplinary analysis of employment, welfare and citizenship in a number of European countries, this book challenges this view. It provides: an overview of employment and unemployment in Europe at the beginning of the 21st century; a comprehensive critique of the idea of globalisation as a challenge to European welfare states; detailed country chapters with new and previously inaccessible information about employment and unemployment policies written by national experts. Europe's new state of welfare is essential reading for students and teachers of social policy, welfare studies, politics and economics.Trade Review"... a valuable examination of unemployment and employment across the European continent." Journal of European Affairs"... provides a useful and timely critique of employment and unemployment policies in a wide range of European countries. The editors are to be commended for including countries not normally covered in comparative policy texts." Bruce Stafford, Centre for Research in Social Policy, Department of Social Sciences, Loughborough UniversityTable of ContentsContents: Changing labour markets, unemployment and unemployment policies in a citizenship perspective Jørgen Goul Andersen and Knut Halvorsen; Employment and unemployment in Europe: overview and new trends Jørgen Goul Andersen and Jan Bendix Jensen; Unemployment and unemployment policy in the UK: increasing employability and redefining citizenship Jochen Clasen; To be or not to be employed? Unemployment in a 'work society' Wolfgang Ludwig-Mayerhofer; France: the impossible new social compromise? Pascal Ughetto and Denis Bouget; Labour market participation in the Netherlands: trends, policies and outcomes Wim van Oorschot; Is high unemployment due to welfare state protection? Lessons from the Swedish experience Bengt Furåker; Denmark: from the edge of the abyss to a sustainable welfare state Jørgen Goul Andersen; Unemployment and (un)employment policies in Norway: the case of an affluent but oil-dependent economy: the paradox of plenty? Knut Halvorsen; Unemployment and unemployment policy in Finland Heikki Ervasti; Slovenia's navigation through a turbulent transition Miroljub Ignjatovic, Anja Kopac, Ivan Svetlik and Martina Trbanc; Unemployment and unemployment policy in Switzerland George Sheldon; Work, welfare and citizenship: diversity and variation within European (un)employment policy Jochen Clasen and Wim van Oorschot.

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Book SynopsisGovernments worldwide assume that national competitiveness can be improved by developing workforce skills. This book critically examines this 'high skills' vision at both policy and practice levels. It challenges an oversimplified policy rhetoric that underestimates the complexity of the processes involved in developing a skilled workforce. The book focuses on key issues relating to the high skills agenda: skills and political economy; different investment strategies for producing skills; qualification systems and learning. A multidisciplinary team of authors from a range of disciplines, including economics, management and education, provides the cross-cutting international and comparative analysis. Editorial comment links their explorations to wider questions of skill formation processes and overarching questions are addressed through in-depth analysis of the roles of higher education, apprenticeship and formal school learning in skill formation.Trade Review"... provides an in-depth understanding of many complexities of skills development, which are often over simplified or ignored by policy makers ... the real value of this text is its critical perspective, as well as the range of issues explored that provides a wide spectrum of views on education, learning and training policy." Work, Employment and Society"This is a very topical work of high policy relevance that represents an important contribution to the analysis of skills supply. It clearly stands out from the competition." John Field, Division of Academic Innovation and Continuing Education, University of StirlingTable of ContentsProducing skills: conundrums and possibilities ~ Geoff Hayward and Susan James; Fit for purpose? Sixty years of VET policy in England ~ Geoff Stanton and Bill Bailey; The European policy regarding education and training: a critical assessment ~ Jean-Luc De Meulemeester and Denis Rochat; 'I can't believe it's not skill': the changing meaning of skill in the UK context and some implications ~ Ewart Keep and Jonathan Payne; Qualifying for a job: an educational and economic audit of the English 14-19 education and training system ~ Rosa M. Fernández and Geoff Hayward; Does apprenticeship still have meaning in the UK? The consequences of voluntarism and sectoral change ~ Alison Fuller and Lorna Unwin; Tradition and reform: modernising the German dual system of vocational education ~ Hubert Ertl; Learning in the workplace: reappraisals and reconceptions ~ Stephen Billett; Interests, arguments and ideologies: employers' involvement in education-business partnerships in the US and the UK ~ Suzanne Greenwald; Compatible higher education systems and the European labour market: Bologna and beyond ~ Guy Haug; The expansion of higher education: economic necessity or hyperinflation? Cécile Deer; Becoming a chef: the politics and culture of learning ~ Susan James and Geoff Hayward.

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Book SynopsisThere are an increasing number of studies devoted to an examination of New Labour's social policies. However, thus far there has been little in the way of substantive discussion of opposition to and conflict around key elements of New Labour's agenda for the welfare state and public sector, from those who are involved in the frontline implementation and delivery of welfare policies. Since the mid to late 1990s, there have been continual and recurring episodes of industrial action of various kinds involving social workers, teachers, lecturers, nurses, hospital ancillary staff, nursery nurses, home helps and local authority librarians among others. Welfare delivery has become a central point of industrial relations disputes in the UK today. This book provides the first critically informed discussion of work and workers in the UK welfare sector under New Labour. It examines the changing nature of work and explores the context of industrial relations across the welfare industry. While the main focus is on the workforce in state welfare, this is set within the context of recent and current shifts in the mixed economy of welfare between state, private and third sector organisations.Trade Review"This is an important book. It reports the impact of pro-business policies on those who struggle on a daily basis to provide vital services in the midst of cuts, low pay and privatisation. But it also shows that those policies can be resisted. It deserves to be read by everyone who wants to know what the so-called 'reform' of public services is really about." Mark Serwotka, General Secretary, Public & Commercial Services Union"... the great strength of all the contributions is the way they weave theory with practice. ... Order this book for your trade union branch and local library - it's a must for activists in the welfare sector." Socialist Review, November 2007"On the whole, it is refreshing to read a book that examines the impacts of welfare policies on the everyday working lives of workers in the 'welfare industries'. .....truly an excellent collection of case studies." Benefits, Vol 16:3, 2008 "This edited collection provides a worthy and illuminating contribution to the debates and controversies surrounding New Labour's dogged determination to continue with-and vigorously reinforce-previous attempts by Conservative governments to construct a neoliberal platform on which delivery of welfare (and the 'welfare industries' responsible for that platform) could be significantly restructured and modernised." Benefits, Vol 16:3, 2008 "This edited volume represents a path-breaking approach to studies of change in the welfare state." Critical Social Policy, Vol 28:4, 2008"What happened to those workers in the public sector when New Labour came into office? This book tells us, systematically, on the basis of sound empirical research and across the public sector as a whole. Essential reading, not just for academics, but for trade unionists and anyone interested in both the reality described and in doing something about it." David Byrne, University of Durham"This timely collection illuminates a very important aspect of the New Labour regime - its tough and often hostile approach to workers within the welfare state. This has received scant attention from social scientists, but this book provides an expert and critical survey across a wide range of the salient issues with an appropriate emphasis on workers' resistance." Norman Ginsburg, London Metropolitan UniversityAUTHOR WOULD LIKE ALL THREE TESTIMONIALS ON BACK COVER IF POSS. SERWOTKA'S IS THE MOST IMPORTANT ONE.Table of ContentsNew Labour, 'modernisation' and welfare worker resistance ~ Gerry Mooney and Alex Law; Strenuous welfarism: restructuring the welfare labour process ~ Alex Law and Gerry Mooney; A 'Third Way'? Industrial relations under New Labour ~ Peter Bain and Phil Taylor; Acts of distrust? The experiences of support workers in PFI hospital schemes ~ Sally Ruane; Control and resistance at the ward-face: contesting the nursing labour process ~ Peter Kennedy and Carole Kennedy; 'I didn't come into teaching for this!' The impact of the market on teacher professionalism ~ Henry Maitles; Ambiguities and resistance: academic labour and the commodification of higher education ~ Alex Law and Hazel Work; The paradox of professionalisation and degradation in welfare work: the case of nursery nurses ~ Gerry Mooney and Tricia McCafferty; Social work today: a profession worth fighting for? ~ Michael Lavalette; Working 'for' welfare in the grip of the 'Iron' Chancellor: modernisation and resistance in the Department for Work and Pensions ~ Tricia McCafferty and Gerry Mooney; Working in the non-profit sector: contract culture, partnership, compacts and the 'shadow state' ~ Lynne Poole; Beyond New Labour: work and resistance in the new welfare state ~ Alex Law and Gerry Mooney.

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Book SynopsisThere are an increasing number of studies devoted to an examination of New Labour's social policies. However, thus far there has been little in the way of substantive discussion of opposition to and conflict around key elements of New Labour's agenda for the welfare state and public sector, from those who are involved in the frontline implementation and delivery of welfare policies. Since the mid to late 1990s, there have been continual and recurring episodes of industrial action of various kinds involving social workers, teachers, lecturers, nurses, hospital ancillary staff, nursery nurses, home helps and local authority librarians among others. Welfare delivery has become a central point of industrial relations disputes in the UK today. This book provides the first critically informed discussion of work and workers in the UK welfare sector under New Labour. It examines the changing nature of work and explores the context of industrial relations across the welfare industry. While the main focus is on the workforce in state welfare, this is set within the context of recent and current shifts in the mixed economy of welfare between state, private and third sector organisations.Trade Review"This is an important book. It reports the impact of pro-business policies on those who struggle on a daily basis to provide vital services in the midst of cuts, low pay and privatisation. But it also shows that those policies can be resisted. It deserves to be read by everyone who wants to know what the so-called 'reform' of public services is really about." Mark Serwotka, General Secretary, Public & Commercial Services Union"... the great strength of all the contributions is the way they weave theory with practice. ... Order this book for your trade union branch and local library - it's a must for activists in the welfare sector." Socialist Review, November 2007"On the whole, it is refreshing to read a book that examines the impacts of welfare policies on the everyday working lives of workers in the 'welfare industries'. .....truly an excellent collection of case studies." Benefits, Vol 16:3, 2008 "This edited collection provides a worthy and illuminating contribution to the debates and controversies surrounding New Labour's dogged determination to continue with-and vigorously reinforce-previous attempts by Conservative governments to construct a neoliberal platform on which delivery of welfare (and the 'welfare industries' responsible for that platform) could be significantly restructured and modernised." Benefits, Vol 16:3, 2008 "This edited volume represents a path-breaking approach to studies of change in the welfare state." Critical Social Policy, Vol 28:4, 2008"What happened to those workers in the public sector when New Labour came into office? This book tells us, systematically, on the basis of sound empirical research and across the public sector as a whole. Essential reading, not just for academics, but for trade unionists and anyone interested in both the reality described and in doing something about it." David Byrne, University of Durham"This timely collection illuminates a very important aspect of the New Labour regime - its tough and often hostile approach to workers within the welfare state. This has received scant attention from social scientists, but this book provides an expert and critical survey across a wide range of the salient issues with an appropriate emphasis on workers' resistance." Norman Ginsburg, London Metropolitan UniversityAUTHOR WOULD LIKE ALL THREE TESTIMONIALS ON BACK COVER IF POSS. SERWOTKA'S IS THE MOST IMPORTANT ONE.Table of ContentsNew Labour, 'modernisation' and welfare worker resistance ~ Gerry Mooney and Alex Law; Strenuous welfarism: restructuring the welfare labour process ~ Alex Law and Gerry Mooney; A 'Third Way'? Industrial relations under New Labour ~ Peter Bain and Phil Taylor; Acts of distrust? The experiences of support workers in PFI hospital schemes ~ Sally Ruane; Control and resistance at the ward-face: contesting the nursing labour process ~ Peter Kennedy and Carole Kennedy; 'I didn't come into teaching for this!' The impact of the market on teacher professionalism ~ Henry Maitles; Ambiguities and resistance: academic labour and the commodification of higher education ~ Alex Law and Hazel Work; The paradox of professionalisation and degradation in welfare work: the case of nursery nurses ~ Gerry Mooney and Tricia McCafferty; Social work today: a profession worth fighting for? ~ Michael Lavalette; Working 'for' welfare in the grip of the 'Iron' Chancellor: modernisation and resistance in the Department for Work and Pensions ~ Tricia McCafferty and Gerry Mooney; Working in the non-profit sector: contract culture, partnership, compacts and the 'shadow state' ~ Lynne Poole; Beyond New Labour: work and resistance in the new welfare state ~ Alex Law and Gerry Mooney.

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Book Synopsis"Beyond the Workfare State" explores equality, discrimination and human rights in relation to employability and 'welfare-to-work' policies. It draws extensively on new research from the SEQUAL Project, undertaken for the European Social Fund, which investigated seven dimensions of discrimination in a labour market that is theoretically 'open to all'. The book provides an overall analysis of policy shifts and presents a wide and distinctive range of illustrative studies that give voice to a variety of potentially marginalised groups. Chapters deal with obstacles to labour-market access around each of the following themes: gender and class; disability; race and ethnicity; geographical exclusion; sexual orientation; the problems of old and young people; and refugees. The authors draw attention to localised examples of promising practice, but also connect these to a broader 'human rights' agenda, linking them to changing legislative and governance frameworks. Its scope covers the whole of Great Britain and it shows how devolution in Scotland and Wales, and at the regional level in England, is creating new possibilities for mainstreaming good practice in this key area. The book will be of great interest to academics and students in social policy and related fields. It will also be valuable for professionals, policy makers and practitioners in the regeneration, community development and anti-discrimination fields, particularly in the UK but also in Europe and beyond.Trade Review'...this empirically detailed and theoretically stimulating work ought to be required reading for employment ministers and their civil servants who talk glibly of 'welfare dependency' and 'activating' the 'workless'. But it is, perhaps, the type of evidence that would make them uncomfortable.' Stephen Clayton, University of Liverpool"This book contains important evidence and relevant conclusions, and everyone interested in labour market participation should read it." Citizen's Income Newsletter"This excellent book shows how it is race, gender, disability, sexuality and particularly class that shape lives. It offers the reader a wide spectrum of knowledge and understanding of labour market access issues, while, importantly, challenging the government's position on how 'employability' can be achieved." Dr Sonia McKay, Working Lives Research Institute, London Metropolitan University"Superbly informed by eight detailed and fascinating case studies, this is an excellent and lucid critique of the government's approach to labour market integration, and a major contribution to the debate about what needs to be done to tackle inequality and discrimination in modern British society." Professor Keith Ewing, Institute of Employment RightsTable of ContentsIntroduction: towards a better workfare state, or one beyond it? ~ Mick Carpenter, Stuart Speeden and Belinda Freda; Part one: Case studies in labour marlet discrimination and inequalities: Beyond the ghost town? The 'promising practices' of community-based initiatives in Coventry ~ Mick Carpenter, Barbara Merrill, Phil Cleaver and Inga Šniukait?; 'It's about having a life, isn't it?' Employability, discrimination and disabled people ~ Debby Watson, Val Williams and Claire Wickham; Between work and tradition: minority ethnic women in North West England ~ Stuart Speeden; Discrimination and geographical exclusion: a case study of North West Wales ~ Brec'hed Piette and Rhian McCarthy; Out of the picture? Sexual orientation and labour market discrimination ~ Anne Bellis with Teresa Cairns and Susan McGrath; Youth discrimination and labour market access: from transitions to capabilities? ~ Mick Carpenter and Belinda Freda; Employability in the third age: a qualitative study of older people in the Glasgow labout market ~ Pamela Clayton; Refugees and the labour market: refugee sector practice in the 'employability' paradigm ~ Azar Sheibani. Part Two: Implications for wider policies: Origins and effects of New Labour's workfare state: modernising or variations on old themes? ~ Mick Carpenter with Stuart Speeden; Capabilities, human rights and the challenge to workfare ~ Mick Carpenter and Stuart Speeden with Colin Griffin and Nick Walters.

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Book Synopsis"Beyond the Workfare State" explores equality, discrimination and human rights in relation to employability and 'welfare-to-work' policies. It draws extensively on new research from the SEQUAL Project, undertaken for the European Social Fund, which investigated seven dimensions of discrimination in a labour market that is theoretically 'open to all'. The book provides an overall analysis of policy shifts and presents a wide and distinctive range of illustrative studies that give voice to a variety of potentially marginalised groups. Chapters deal with obstacles to labour-market access around each of the following themes: gender and class; disability; race and ethnicity; geographical exclusion; sexual orientation; the problems of old and young people; and refugees. The authors draw attention to localised examples of promising practice, but also connect these to a broader 'human rights' agenda, linking them to changing legislative and governance frameworks. Its scope covers the whole of Great Britain and it shows how devolution in Scotland and Wales, and at the regional level in England, is creating new possibilities for mainstreaming good practice in this key area. The book will be of great interest to academics and students in social policy and related fields. It will also be valuable for professionals, policy makers and practitioners in the regeneration, community development and anti-discrimination fields, particularly in the UK but also in Europe and beyond.Trade Review"This book contains important evidence and relevant conclusions, and everyone interested in labour market participation should read it." Citizen's Income Newsletter'...this empirically detailed and theoretically stimulating work ought to be required reading for employment ministers and their civil servants who talk glibly of 'welfare dependency' and 'activating' the 'workless'. But it is, perhaps, the type of evidence that would make them uncomfortable.' Stephen Clayton, University of LiverpoolTable of ContentsIntroduction: towards a better workfare state, or one beyond it? ~ Mick Carpenter, Stuart Speeden and Belinda Freda; Part one: Case studies in labour marlet discrimination and inequalities: Beyond the ghost town? The 'promising practices' of community-based initiatives in Coventry ~ Mick Carpenter, Barbara Merrill, Phil Cleaver and Inga Šniukaitė; 'It's about having a life, isn't it?' Employability, discrimination and disabled people ~ Debby Watson, Val Williams and Claire Wickham; Between work and tradition: minority ethnic women in North West England ~ Stuart Speeden; Discrimination and geographical exclusion: a case study of North West Wales ~ Brec'hed Piette and Rhian McCarthy; Out of the picture? Sexual orientation and labour market discrimination ~ Anne Bellis with Teresa Cairns and Susan McGrath; Youth discrimination and labour market access: from transitions to capabilities? ~ Mick Carpenter and Belinda Freda; Employability in the third age: a qualitative study of older people in the Glasgow labout market ~ Pamela Clayton; Refugees and the labour market: refugee sector practice in the 'employability' paradigm ~ Azar Sheibani. Part Two: Implications for wider policies: Origins and effects of New Labour's workfare state: modernising or variations on old themes? ~ Mick Carpenter with Stuart Speeden; Capabilities, human rights and the challenge to workfare ~ Mick Carpenter and Stuart Speeden with Colin Griffin and Nick Walters.

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Book SynopsisOver the last fifty years women's employment has increased markedly throughout developed countries. Women of younger generations are much more likely than their mothers and grandmothers to enter the labour market and stay in it after they marry and have children. Are these changes due only to changes in women's investments and preferences, or also to the opportunities and constraints within which women form their choices? Have women with higher and lower educational and occupational profiles combined family responsibilities with paid work differently? And have their divisions changed? With an innovative approach, this book compares Italy and Great Britain, investigating transformations in women's transitions in and out of paid work across four subsequent birth cohorts, from the time they leave full-time education up to their 40s. It provides a comprehensive discussion of demographic, economic and sociological theories and contains large amounts of information on changes over time in the two countries, both in women's work histories and in the economic, institutional and cultural context in which they are embedded. By comparing across both space and time, the book makes it possible to see how different institutional and normative configurations shape women's life courses, contributing to help or hinder the work-family reconciliation and to reduce or reinforce inequalities. "Women in and out of paid work" will be valuable reading for students, academics, professionals, policy makers and anyone interested in women's studies, work-family reconciliation, gender and class inequalities, social policy and sociology.Trade Review"....Solera’s contribution should be part of the obligatory readings of all family and labour market sociologists interested in the study of women’s life chances in contemporary society." Alvaro Martinez Perez, Sociologica Online'...it is impossible in a short review to do justice to the impressive analytical complexity of this study. Suffice it to say, Solera’s book is a model of theoretically informed empirical research on the changing pattern of women and paid work in Italy and Britain over the past 50 years.' - Work, employment and society"This book breaks new ground in our understanding of women and careers. It is a must read for anyone interested in gender and the lifecourse and exemplifies the very best of contemporary sociological analysis - a scientific tour de force that merits our applause." Gosta Esping-Andersen, Professor of Sociology, Universitat Pompeu FabraBreen's testimonail in reviewsTable of ContentsIntroduction; Conceptualising influences on women's employment transitions: from various sociological and economic theories towards an integrated approach; Changes in the Italian and British contexts: the link with women's employment patterns; Method, data and hypotheses; Who leaves the labour market and who returns? The changing effect of marriage and children; 'Her' and 'his' education and class: new polarisations in work histories; Conclusions.

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Book SynopsisBlending the hot topics of new technology, market spaces, competitive strategy and customer behaviour, Customer Capitalism stands conventional wisdom on its head by introducing a new business model which shows how any business can generate increasing returns and gain a massive competitive advantage. Taking examples from companies as diverse as Amazon.com and Mondex, Microsoft and Monsanto, the author explains how businesses can escape the traps of a traditional mindset and originate for the customer rather than the product. These entreprises transform classic product/service categories, moving them away from market share into new "market spaces" where they find new ways of doing for customers. Customer Capitalism does what old capitalism could never do - it gives corporations a sustainable edge. Sandra Vandermerwe shows how to relate the ten principles of customer capitalism to your business and achieve the multiple and exponential rewards of increasing returns. Customer Capitalism generates growing customer value streams from ever-deepening and expanding relationships with individuals who lock-on to an organisation. These customers become an "installed customer base" who want the organisation as their dominant or sole choice on an ongoing basis. The new enterprise becomes the standard for these new ways of doing things by gathering market momentum. A growing number of individuals see and use the new way of doing things, making the enterprise ever more prevalent, and its brand increasingly infectious to others. Central to the concept of customer capitalism are six positive feedback loops which ensure customer lock-on and accelerating growth. Once the loops go into motion as one interlinking, reiterative system then the real forces of the new market and economic dynamics of customer capitalism come into play. Customers become the competitive barrier. Advantage leads to more advantage, success to more success, accumulating increasing returns in new market spaces.Table of ContentsAcknowledgements. Prologue: Changing the Business Model. 1. The Ten Principles of Customer Capitalism. Part One: New Ways of Doing Things. 2. Punctuating the Equilibrium. 3. The Power of to Revolutionize. 4. Becoming the Standard for New Ways of Doing Things. Part Two: The Time Value of Customers. 5. Learning to Customer Originate. 6. Customers as Lifelong Investfments. 7. Giving Margins a Break. Part Three: From Market Share to Market Spaces. 8. One More Time: What's Wrong with Market Share? 9. Market Spaces and Customer Capitalism. 10. Converging Industries and New Market Spaces. Part Four: Getting in Sooner, Staying in Longer. 11. Opportunity Managing in the Customer Activity Cycle. 12. On Higher Ground. 13. The New Electronic Go-between Service Proider. Part Five: Customers as Competitive Barriers. 14. Making Intention the Lever. 15. Getting Personal. 16. Moving to the Point of Acceleration. Part Six: New Competitive Wholes. 17. The Art of Connectivity. 18. Leading to Win-Win. 19. Practiving Complementarity. Part Seven: Locking on and Rolling Out. 20. First Prevalence then Profits. 21. Investing Up Front for Increasing Returns. 22. The Critical Value of Critical Mass. Part Eight: It's the Thought that Counts. 23. The Incredible Weight of Intangibles. 24. The Abundance Factor. 25. Mobilizing Mindpower. Part Nine: Economics of Customer Capitalism. 26 . Spreading the Cost of Learning. 27. The 'Falling Cost per Unit' Phenomenon. Part Ten: Scoring to Win. 29. Pricing for Time. 30. Valuing for Increasing Returns. References, Notes and Points of Departure. Index.

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Book SynopsisThe hypercomplex digital-technological environment is exponential and revolutionary. Our social mindset adaptation, instead, is slower and evolutionary, as an individual’s or an organization culture needs time to transform. This book offers students, institutions, and organisations innovative and interdisciplinary digital sociology tools to help build an adaptive, flexible, imaginative social mindset in order to cope with such a gap and to match a sustainable digital transformation (DT). By disrupting traditional linear approaches to understand the context into which business models are designed, institutions and students are challenged with innovative transdisciplinary holistic models grounded into business case studies. If the book stimulates students to learn how purposefully and autonomously to explore the web, to grasp the deeper meaning of DT and its social impact, institutions are solicited to answer to direct quests that go right to the core of their transformative DNA as: ‘How effectively are you carrying on DT in a sustainable, people-centred way? Which is your socio-cultural DT profile and what are your DT areas of strength and areas of improvement?'In this frame of work, the innovative Four Paradigm Model indicates new coordinates and provides original tools to profile an institution’s digital transformation strategy, to analyse it, and measure the level of sustainable socio-economic value. Sample syllabi, PowerPoint slides and quizzes are available online to assist in the teaching experience. Table of ContentsPart 1: The Digital Transformation Social Mindset.- Chapter 1: Introduction - Looking for a social soul to transform.- Chapter 2: An unpredictable era at the time of Covid-19.- Chapter 3: The Digital Transformation Social Mindset.- Part II: The Four Paradigm Model.- Chapter 4: The Digital Ecosystem.- Chapter 5: The Four Paradigm Model.- Chapter 6: The Four Paradigm Model in Action.- Conclusive Remarks.

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Book SynopsisThis open access book examines the increase in outsourcing, contracting and subcontracting as ways of organising work. It explores the impact of these employment arrangements on public safety, particularly when they are linked to complex supply networks in a range of engineering industries including oil and gas, nuclear power and aviation. The brief provides practical recommendations on how best to manage arrangements that target short-term profitability and also maintain excellence in long-term safety outcomes. The brief is a source of advice for organisations on how to maximise the benefits and minimise long-term system reliability issues that can be introduced by contracting and outsourcing, rather than assuming it to be a wholly negative or positive practice. Contracting and Safety comprises qualitative, empirical studies focusing on high-reliability organisation. As such, this brief provides a rich picture of the experience of working in complex supply chains. It will be of interest to researchers in industrial safety, as well as safety professionals and project managers within engineering industries.Table of ContentsPart I: Maintenance & Operations.- 1. Contracting and Safety: Lessons From Observing an Outsourcing Process ‘in the Making’.- 2. Organisational Complexity and Subcontracting Management: Confronting Lessons From Accidents and From Normal Operation Safety Assessment.- 3. Inter-Organizational Collaboration for the Safety of Railway Vehicles: a Japanese Case.- Effects of Tendering on the Resilience of Critical Services.- Part II: Capital Projects and Supply Chains.- 4. Organizing for Nuclear Safety: Exploring General Applicability of Relational Contracting to Nuclear Industry Projects with Practitioners.- 5. Playing at the Margins of Notoriously Unreliable Utility Streetworks.- 6. The Fragmentation of Workplace Safety: Long-Term Challenges for Project-Based Organization of Large Construction Projects.- 7. How Outsourcing Impacts Process Safety: the Case of Nuclear Waste Storage.- Part III: Regulation and Risk Governance.- 8. Outsourcing Risk Governance: Using Consultants to Deliver Regulatory Functions.- 9. Discussion on the Issues of Safety and Sustainability of Fragmented Systems.- 10. Outsourcing as a Way to Uphold the Scientific Method: the Case of Outsourcing of the Technical Dialogue.-11. Concluding Remarks.

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